Let the Tribal Members Pick the New Name

[diggin42]

We're told the soon-to-be-retired name must go because it is "hostile and abusive" toward Native Americans. That issue has been debated on every level imaginable and can never be conclusively settled. Since our University and State leaders have now apparently agreed that UND used a hostile and abusive name for the past 70 years, it logically flows that we must somehow make amends to the Sioux tribal members against whom the Sioux name and logo created hostility and caused abuse. I can think of no better way than to let the Sioux tribal members choose, without restrictions, the name UND will use after 2011. The name with a simple majority of votes wins.

Before you fall over in your seat, think about it. The tribal councils have offered many different excuses (too costly for a vote, not important enough to tribal affairs, tribal members don't know enough about the issue, tribal members are being manipulated, etc., etc.) for why only their opinion mattered and why the voice of their members was not needed. Since it would be the SBoHE behind the voting process, the council members' excuses would no longer apply and their opinions would count no more than that of any other tribal member - one member, one vote.

I think we all know what name the members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes would end up choosing. Anyone who thinks they would try to make a mockery of the process by choosing a name like Lightning, Norse, Mallards, Carp, Fighting Luftballons, or some other goofy name knows nothing about tribal culture and simply hasn't been paying attention during this process.

If the tribal members re-choose "Fighting Sioux" or "Sioux" as the name UND will use after 2011, then we will have satisfied the NCAA requirements and the tribal members voices will have been heard...finally. Douple, the Summit League and others will no longer have a reason to self-righteously look down their noses at UND because the very people they told us we offended were the ones who chose the "new" name.

So the next time you fire off an e-mail to Gov. Hoeven to do something, try the above suggestion. Far fetched? I suppose. Could it ever happen? I've not yet seen the courage or (Sioux) spirit in our "leaders" to suggest they will do anything but pat themselves on the back after they dictate the selection of some benign and forever-less-than-what-we-had name and then scratch their heads when the voters of the state decide they are no longer worthy of their jobs.

[Blackheart]

We're told the soon-to-be-retired name must go because it is "hostile and abusive" toward Native Americans. That issue has been debated on every level imaginable and can never be conclusively settled. Since our University and State leaders have now apparently agreed that UND used a hostile and abusive name for the past 70 years, it logically flows that we must somehow make amends to the Sioux tribal members against whom the Sioux name and logo created hostility and caused abuse. I can think of no better way than to let the Sioux tribal members choose, without restrictions, the name UND will use after 2011. The name with a simple majority of votes wins.

The only issue I have with your proposal is that the simple majority never seems to win.

[UND Fan]

We're told the soon-to-be-retired name must go because it is "hostile and abusive" toward Native Americans. That issue has been debated on every level imaginable and can never be conclusively settled. Since our University and State leaders have now apparently agreed that UND used a hostile and abusive name for the past 70 years, it logically flows that we must somehow make amends to the Sioux tribal members against whom the Sioux name and logo created hostility and caused abuse. I can think of no better way than to let the Sioux tribal members choose, without restrictions, the name UND will use after 2011. The name with a simple majority of votes wins.

Before you fall over in your seat, think about it. The tribal councils have offered many different excuses (too costly for a vote, not important enough to tribal affairs, tribal members don't know enough about the issue, tribal members are being manipulated, etc., etc.) for why only their opinion mattered and why the voice of their members was not needed. Since it would be the SBoHE behind the voting process, the council members' excuses would no longer apply and their opinions would count no more than that of any other tribal member - one member, one vote.

I think we all know what name the members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes would end up choosing. Anyone who thinks they would try to make a mockery of the process by choosing a name like Lightning, Norse, Mallards, Carp, Fighting Luftballons, or some other goofy name knows nothing about tribal culture and simply hasn't been paying attention during this process.

If the tribal members re-choose "Fighting Sioux" or "Sioux" as the name UND will use after 2011, then we will have satisfied the NCAA requirements and the tribal members voices will have been heard...finally. Douple, the Summit League and others will no longer have a reason to self-righteously look down their noses at UND because the very people they told us we offended were the ones who chose the "new" name.

So the next time you fire off an e-mail to Gov. Hoeven to do something, try the above suggestion. Far fetched? I suppose. Could it ever happen? I've not yet seen the courage or (Sioux) spirit in our "leaders" to suggest they will do anything but pat themselves on the back after they dictate the selection of some benign and forever-less-than-what-we-had name and then scratch their heads when the voters of the state decide they are no longer worthy of their jobs.

A very unique and, I think, good idea!

[Csonked Out]

A very unique and, I think, good idea!

I have to respectfully disagree on that idea. In my personal opinion the only people that should have a say in this are people that are tied directly to the university (ie. Alumni, Employees and Students). As an alumni and also donor, it is important to myself that the nickname reflect what the majority of us tied to the university feel it should be, not a group of people who may have never been to the university. I understand the purpose of it though and it is quite a creative idea, just not something that appeals to me.

[krangodance]

We're told the soon-to-be-retired name must go because it is "hostile and abusive" toward Native Americans. That issue has been debated on every level imaginable and can never be conclusively settled. Since our University and State leaders have now apparently agreed that UND used a hostile and abusive name for the past 70 years, it logically flows that we must somehow make amends to the Sioux tribal members against whom the Sioux name and logo created hostility and caused abuse. I can think of no better way than to let the Sioux tribal members choose, without restrictions, the name UND will use after 2011. The name with a simple majority of votes wins.

Before you fall over in your seat, think about it. The tribal councils have offered many different excuses (too costly for a vote, not important enough to tribal affairs, tribal members don't know enough about the issue, tribal members are being manipulated, etc., etc.) for why only their opinion mattered and why the voice of their members was not needed. Since it would be the SBoHE behind the voting process, the council members' excuses would no longer apply and their opinions would count no more than that of any other tribal member - one member, one vote.

I think we all know what name the members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes would end up choosing. Anyone who thinks they would try to make a mockery of the process by choosing a name like Lightning, Norse, Mallards, Carp, Fighting Luftballons, or some other goofy name knows nothing about tribal culture and simply hasn't been paying attention during this process.

If the tribal members re-choose "Fighting Sioux" or "Sioux" as the name UND will use after 2011, then we will have satisfied the NCAA requirements and the tribal members voices will have been heard...finally. Douple, the Summit League and others will no longer have a reason to self-righteously look down their noses at UND because the very people they told us we offended were the ones who chose the "new" name.

So the next time you fire off an e-mail to Gov. Hoeven to do something, try the above suggestion. Far fetched? I suppose. Could it ever happen? I've not yet seen the courage or (Sioux) spirit in our "leaders" to suggest they will do anything but pat themselves on the back after they dictate the selection of some benign and forever-less-than-what-we-had name and then scratch their heads when the voters of the state decide they are no longer worthy of their jobs.

i don't see this happening, but i'd support the idea if und/sbohe proposed it.

[johndahl]

Clever way of forcing the indian tribes to actually think about what's really in their best interest, rather than be told by a handful of liberals when to be offended...

[yababy8]

In my personal opinion the only people that should have a say in this are people that are tied directly to the university (ie. Alumni, Employees and Students). As an alumni and also donor, it is important to myself that the nickname reflect what the majority of us tied to the university feel it should be,

A hhhh??

wasn't that done already?

and it looks like this did a piss poor job of it, given all of the objections to the name they picked..

[Csonked Out]

A hhhh??

wasn't that done already?

and it looks like this did a piss poor job of it, given all of the objections to the name they picked..

You look around the country and apparently UND wasn't the only one who felt that was a good idea at the time, as their are/were the Seminoles, Illini, Indians, Red Skins, Fighting Irish, Vikings etc.... My point being alumni, students, and the community are all a very integral part of every University and IMHO it would be a mistake not to include them in this decision, as the dollars they give the University are a very large piece of the pie.

[SiouxForever]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZCZnRyqUaA