Media Stories on the Sioux Name

[ScottM]

Talk about "preaching to the choir". Frankly, I'm appalled that these people continue to support the school, and its name/logo, by providing their services to it, for money no less. For shame.

[82SiouxGuy]

Yep that was what I said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

GK's point was that the gentleman is Dakota not Lakota. He couldn't point out the simple error, he had to make a sarcastic comment about our lack of knowledge about the Sioux tribes.

[Goon]

[new2sioux2]

What about UND...home of the Mighty Sioux or Proud Sioux? If it is just the matter of the word "fighting" or then we could talk to the Dakota not Lakota band as GK suggested

[ScottM]

What about UND...home of the Mighty Sioux or Proud Sioux?  If it is just the matter of the word "fighting" or then we could talk to the Dakota not Lakota band as GK suggested

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The way some of the name opponents are acting, I think "Whining Sioux" is more appropriate.

[dakotadan]

UND: Professors discuss nickname.

Moen, from the Department of Conflict Resolution, discussed how she was using the issue in her classroom.

How it should have read:

Moen, from the Department of Conflict Resolution, discussed how she uses class time the students are paying for to force her opinion on the students.

[PCM]

From the Indiana Gazette:

Rick Weaver's sports column

At first, they might have had a point. But when the NCAA started to interject such terms as "hostile" and "abusive" in literature that outlawed the use of such nicknames as "Indians," the whole controversy began to smell of a circus.

I'm not going to lie to you: At one time I applauded universities that ditched such nicknames as "Indians" and "Redskins." But the NCAA's attempt to foist universal compliance on this pseudo-issue is not the way to go. The organization has more important things to worry about than whether someone dressed up as an Indian stands along the sidelines of a well-attended sporting event.

[PCM]

From the Herald & Review:

NCAA has no business interfering with team mascots

The NCAA is a voluntary organization. The NCAA agrees to oversee college athletics and postseason tournaments. Other than that, the NCAA agrees to let the universities run their own programs. That's the way it's supposed to work, at least.

[PCM]

From the Daily Illini:

Editorial: The Chief problem

The University Board of Trustees should be commended for its firm stance against the NCAA's ban of Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini nickname in its Oct. 13 appeal. If nothing else, the board stood its ground and refused to submit to an arbitrary and incoherent decision from a body that is unaccountable to Illinoisans. But the trustees continue to leave the University vulnerable to undue external pressure by continuing to drag their feet on reaching a "consensus conclusion" regarding the fate of the Chief.

What is surprising about the University's appeal, however, is the unusually vigorous language and the decisive tone used in the letter. It bluntly states that the NCAA's failure to exempt the University from the ban will damage its institutional autonomy and its "ability to participate fully and equally as a member institution in NCAA competition."

[PCM]

The Dakota Student ran this story on the bogus "Sioux Pride" blog.

I wasn't aware that there was an entire forum on SiouxSports.com dedicated to one phony blog.

Also, for the record, I am not a "medical school researcher" as was stated in the Herald and now in the Dakota Student. The Herald ran a correction the day after its story was published.

Edited October 21, 2005 by PCM

[ScottM]

Also, for the record, I am not a "medical school researcher" as was stated in the Herald and now in the Dakota Student. The Herald ran a correction the day after its story was published.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Bum", eh?

[PCM]

"Bum", eh?     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess. According to a thread in another SiouxSports.com forum, I've been on vacation for the past 28 years.

[Sioux-cia]

From the Indiana Gazette:

Rick Weaver's sports column

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is this really how American Indians feel. I think that this statement is demeaning and insulting to all American Indians or at least it should be. If anyone described how I felt about anything in this way, I'd want to clobber 'em.

"American Indian mascots are harmful not only because they are often negative, but because they remind American Indians of the limited ways in which others see them," Stephanie Fryberg said in a statement that was circulated among the wire services."This in turn restricts the number of ways American Indians can see themselves."

[PCM]

From the Grand Forks Herald:

VIEWPOINT: Sociology may explain NCAA view

UND cannot control what opposing teams do with our imagery; those teams do what athletic tradition has honed to an almost fine art: They denigrate the imagery of opposing team, which, in our case, means real people. Thus, a significant minority of our students and faculty do not feel comfortable attending UND athletic events.

This line of thinking totally baffles me. Because UND can't control the racist tendencies of opposing schools, the NCCA must punish UND by censoring a name and logo that the university uses with respect.

It's true that some of the most racist misuses of UND's name and logo have come from our opponents. In fact, I remember the incidents that occurred at one of the last women's basketball games at NDSU during which UND's basketball players were called "whores" and "sluts" to their faces by Bison fans and were spat upon as NDSU's AD looked on. I remember how a Bison fan singled out a UND black assistant coach for racial taunting.

Therefore, following Janet Kelly Moen's logic, UND should drop women's basketball, fire its minority coaches and not hire any others. After all, UND has no control over the racist and sexist comments that opposing teams direct at its, players, coaches and fans. We might as well take Moen's and the NCAA's reasoning to its logical conclusion.

[PCM]

From the News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, Ill.):

Trustees mostly mum on symbol

Board members say the NCAA should not be involved in deciding the Chief issue.

"I don't believe we needed the NCAA or anyone else to tell us when to make a decision," said Trustee Bob Sperling.

"The trustees have worked very hard to reach consensus on this issue," Sperling said. "I think we should have been given the opportunity to deal with this issue and we would have dealt with this issue in a timely manner. Giving an artificial deadline does more harm than good because it creates more hostility between the two sides. But we're going to do the right thing for university."

[dagies]

Is this really how American Indians feel.  I think that this statement is demeaning and insulting to all American Indians or at least it should be. If anyone described how I felt about anything in this way, I'd want to clobber 'em.

I agree. I couldn't believe supposed intellectuals were spewing that crap when I read it.

[Goon]

I agree.

Edited October 23, 2005 by Goon

[PCM]

There are many UND faculty in science and research who oppose the university's use of the Sioux nickname, as this letter to the editor in today's Herald demonstrates. William Sheridan, a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of biology. says:

Each fall semester, there are about 80 to 95 incoming Indian students at UND. Whereas about 75 percent of all incoming freshmen students at UND return the following year, the retention rate of incoming Indian students is much lower, averaging 56 percent over the last 11 years.

The question Sheridan doesn't answer is: How does UND's retention rate of American Indian freshman students compare to other colleges and universities in the region? He also conveniently ignores the fact that UND's American Indian enrollment has increased nearly 30 percent since 2001, the year that the new Engelstad Arena went into operation and the new Sioux logo came into widespread use. Sheridan says:

In their various interactions on the campus, the approximately 450 Indian students are surrounded by the 12,000 or more mainly white students of the student body. A large majority of the white students feel that the university should continue to use the Fighting Sioux name and logo; however, the majority of Indian students at UND, when polled in 2000, expressed opposition to the continued use of the name and logo.

While providing no evidence, Sheridan concludes that the reason freshman American Indian students are retained at a lower rate than white freshman students is because the Fighting Sioux nickname creates a hostile environment on campus and in the community:

Not only in the local community but also on the UND campus, this contentious issue has brought to the surface underlying insensitivity and white racism.

Once again, the problem I have with this line of reasoning is that any minority on campus that has a difference of opinion with the "white racist" majority is treated as if it has the right to impose its opinion and its will on the majority.

I'll bet that if someone conducted a survey with questions based on today's social issues, the results would show a wide gulf between the political opinions of the "white racist majority" and the American Indian minority. So what does that mean? Must UND rid itself of those with differing points of view on certain political issues in order to retain more freshman American Indian students? How far do we take this ridiculous idea?

When I started college in the early 70s, the Vietnam War was still on. A large majority of students my age were opposed to the war and were supporters of South Dakota's then U.S. Senator George McGovern. The war and McGovern (who had just lost the 1972 presidential race to Richard Nixon) were topics of discussion everywhere on campus.

My roommate, Jim, and I were both pro-war and couldn't stand McGovern. Jim actually got into a fist fight with a McGovern supporter who taunted him at every opportunity. Many students had anti-war and pro-McGovern posters on their doors. When we put up posters supporting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leo Thorsness, a Medal of Honor winner and former Vietnam POW, they were ripped off our door by other students.

Was I living in a hostile and abusive environment because my political views differed with those of the majority? Yes. Did I expect the university to censor or rid itself of those who disagreed with me? Absolutely not. I believed in the right of free experession. It was my responsibility and my right to defend my point of view and convince others of it. The thought never crossed my mind that the university owed me a friendly environment that coincided with my political views or my opinions.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Allowing a minority of a minority to dictate to the majority only widens the divide between races and increases racial tension. I have no doubt that Sheridan and others who share his views are well intentioned, but they would be much better off using the power of free expression to influence and sway the majority than relying on the NCAA or government to beat it into submission.

[82SiouxGuy]

I see 2 important points in your post PCM. One is the question of retention rates for NA students. They are currently much lower for NA students than for white students. However, how do these numbers compare at other schools around the region and the nation? If they are worse here than at other schools then it may be related to the atmosphere on campus. Also, how do these numbers compare to the past at UND? Were retention numbers for NA students better, worse or the same 10 years or 20 years ago? If they haven't gotten worse in recent years you can't blame it on REA or the new logo.

The other point is one that I have thought about for quite a while. Many of the problems that the name-changers talk about are harrassment for wanting to change the name. They claim that these incidents are racially motivated. You illustrated very well how having an opposing viewpoint will cause a reaction. I believe that many of these incidents would happen if we were the Bluejays or the Flickertails or any other mild mannered name and a group wanted to change the name. People are very attached to these names and logos. Can you imagine the uproar if a group wanted NDSU to drop the Bison name. People would be screaming a lot more than Yellow.

[PCM]

There's a rebuttal in the Herald in response to William Sheridan's letter to the editor published on Sunday. It was written by Sharon Boschee, a flute instructor at UND. (Scroll down below the coal letter.)

A dubious connection between nickname, retention

It doesn't matter where people stand in regard to the UND nickname and logo. The idea that the nickname's presence is causing a retention problem seems highly unlikely. I agree that it may be a small determining factor for some Indian students when they choose to leave UND, but I've never seen anything to suggest that it's the main factor.

[PCM]

From The Harvard Crimson:

U. North Dakota Illustration Is Not Representative Of Fans

I am a senior at the University of North Dakota (UND), and for the past 16 years of my life I have attended UND athletic events at home and away. I understand that there are a lot of different opinions regarding this issue, but what troubles me the most is that you included an illustration of what the artist assumes to be the atmosphere at one of our university

[BisonSuck]

[Goon]

How very true Goon.  Those people take pride in complaining about everything this country has to offer; except for their federal given right to complain about everything.  Michael Moore wanna be's...

Actually I think the deal with Michael Moore is that he is very loose with the facts and isn't hard to debunk. Truth is Moore as credible is to Al Franken.

[administrator]

Actually I think the deal with Michael Moore is that he is very loose with the facts and isn't hard to debunk. Truth is Moore as credible is to Al Franken.

Please avoid discussion of partisan politics unrelated to the Sioux nickname.

[LeftyZL]

From The Harvard Crimson:

U. North Dakota Illustration Is Not Representative Of Fans