(NAME-MCE) Sioux Tribe OKs North Dakota Nickname

Thu Apr 23 09:19:40 CDT 2009

Several stories below.  For related articles, go to the websites listed.

Anselmo
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Sioux Tribe OKs North Dakota Nickname

The University of North Dakota’s athletic teams will continue to be known as
the “Fighting Sioux,” for the time being. Tuesday, during an election of
tribal officials, members of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe voted to approve
the university’s current nickname. The state’s Board of Higher Education and
the National Collegiate Athletic Association reached a settlement in 2007
that mandates that the university must receive the approval of the two major
Sioux tribes – Spirit Lake and Standing Rock – by November 30, 2010 to
maintain the nickname. The Associated Press reports that the Standing Rock
tribe, whose members have publically opposed the nickname in the past, has
no immediate plans to hold a similar vote.

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http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=49005

Tribal voters approve North Dakota nickname

April 22, 2009

The Spirit Lake Sioux tribe voted Tuesday to approve the University of North
Dakota’s current nickname – a condition under terms of the settlement of the
North Dakota Board of Higher Education’s 2006 lawsuit against the NCAA for
North Dakota’s use of the name and related imagery in the Association’s
championships.

Another tribal group, the Standing Rock Sioux, has not given its permission
to use the name.

The vote, which the Grand Forks Tribune and Devils Lake Journal reported as
unofficially confirmed, was conducted during a Spirit Rock primary election
for tribal officials and was to be certified Wednesday by the tribal
election board.

The Board of Higher Education and the NCAA announced the settlement in 2007.
Under its terms, the university has until November 30, 2010, to obtain
approval of the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock tribes to continue using its
Fighting Sioux nickname and associated marks.

“The settlement confirms that the Sioux people and no one else should decide
whether and how their name should be used,” Bernard Franklin, NCAA senior
vice president for membership and student-athlete affairs, said at the time
in a statement.

If the university is unable to obtain approval from both tribes, the NCAA
agreed to give the university until August 15, 2011, to adopt a new name and
logo.

Under terms of the settlement, the NCAA also issued a public statement on
the campus environment at North Dakota.

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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-04-22-north-dakota-mascot_N.htm

One tribe backs North Dakota bid for Fighting Sioux name

FORT TOTTEN, N.D. (AP) — Members of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe say they're
proud of the Fighting Sioux nickname, and they showed it with their votes.

Results from the tribe's primary election, announced Wednesday by the tribal
election committee, showed 764 votes in favor of the University of North
Dakota's nickname and Indian head logo and 371 against it.

Under a settlement with the NCAA, UND needs approval from the Sioux tribes
in the state to continue using the nickname and Indian-head logo without
penalties. The NCAA considers it hostile and abusive.

North Dakota University Chancellor William Goetz referred questions to Grant
Shaft, the chairman of a committee set up by the state Board of Higher
Education to consider whether to abolish the nickname. While the vote does
not resolve the issue, it is "the first direct voice we've heard from the
reservation," Shaft said.

Eunice Davidson, a nickname supporter who gathered enough signatures to put
the issue to a vote on the Spirit Lake reservation, said her ancestors were
fighting Sioux, and she is proud of the name.

"The people spoke," Davidson said Wednesday. "I hope the rest of the country
and the NCAA hears that."

Tribal Chairwoman Myra Pearson declined comment.

Frank Black Cloud wore his UND Fighting Sioux hat to the tribal offices
Wednesday.

"I've been called every name in the book, but I'm proud to be called a
Fighting Sioux because that's what I am," Black Cloud said.

An opponent of the nickname, Terry Morgan, said the election results make
him "embarrassed and ashamed for our people."

Morgan said, "If it hurts one person, why use it?"

The Spirit Lake tribe, in northeastern North Dakota, has about 7,000
enrolled members,including about 4,000 on the reservation.

No official nickname vote has been scheduled on the Standing Rock Sioux
reservation, which straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. Standing
Rock leaders have opposed the nickname and logo.

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http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/09/29/mascot

Shunning the 'Fighting Sioux'

September 29, 2005

The National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday upheld its
decision last month to include the University of North Dakota on a list of
institutions that face restrictions on participation in NCAA championships
because they use nicknames deemed “hostile and abusive” to Native Americans.

Since the NCAA announced the policy August 5, it has granted appeals filed
by three other institutions -- Central Michigan and Florida State
Universities and the University of Utah -- that had also been included on
the original list of 18 institutions with mascots, names or other imagery
deemed offensive. In all three cases, the universities were able to show
that the namesake tribes -- the Chippewas (Central Michigan), Seminoles
(Florida State) and Utes -- supported the institutions’ continued use of the
name.

North Dakota appealed, too, arguing that the university’s use of the name
with “consummate respect” had earned it the support of some Sioux tribes.

But in a statement Wednesday, the NCAA’s senior vice president for
governance and membership, Bernard Franklin, said “the university did not
have the support of the three federally recognized Sioux tribes of North
Dakota… Information the NCAA received from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and
the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe clearly indicates both tribes oppose the
university's use of the ‘Fighting Sioux’ nickname and imagery. Several
requests made by the NCAA to the Spirit Lake Tribe for clarification on its
position went unanswered.” The NCAA also noted that the Board of Directors
of the United Tribes of North Dakota, which represents the five federally
recognized tribes in the state, including the three Sioux tribes, had
“unanimously passed a resolution supporting the NCAA decision.”

Franklin added: "Although the University of North Dakota maintained that its
logo and nickname are used with consummate respect, the position of the
namesake tribes and those affected by the hostile or abusive environment
that the nickname and logo create take precedence. The decision of a
namesake sovereign tribe, regarding when and how its name and imagery can be
used, must be respected even when others may not agree.”

The NCAA did make one concession to North Dakota, saying that it would be
allowed to play host to a regional Division I hockey championship in March,
even though the policy that takes effect in February would normally have
precluded that. The university’s arena features a large image of the
Fighting Sioux logo atop its entrance (plus a statue of Indian on horseback
in its plaza).

“This decision was made because it is not reasonable to cover up or remove
all of the Native American imagery in the arena, and the restriction was
adopted by the Executive Committee after the contract was awarded to the
university. The University of North Dakota will be restricted from hosting
future championships in that arena,” Franklin said in his statement.

North Dakota has one more avenue of appeal, but it is to the very same NCAA
Executive Committee that adopted the policy and approved the list of banned
institutions in the first place.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, President Charles Kupchella said:
"Obviously, we do not agree with the decision,and we will continue to press
our case throughall of the levels of review and beyond as necessary. Because
of the harshness of the words 'hostile' and 'abusive' we have no choice but
to pursue an appeal and prove, in a court of law if necessary, that this
choice of words was inappropriate, and in no way describes what we do here
at the University of North Dakota."

He added: "We must press our case, because to let the charge of hostile and
abusive stand would have a chilling effect to prospective faculty, staff,
and most importantly, prospective American Indian students we arehere to
serve. Even those here opposed to the use of the nickname on campus
recognize that UND offers perhaps the best opportunity for many American
Indian students to get an education. I would also note, that the schools
exempted thus far have been exempted on the basis of a 'special
relationship' with American Indian tribes, yet our proportionate number of
American Indian students and the number of substantive programs in support
of American Indian students exceeds that of all of the exempted schools
combined."

—  Doug Lederman