News Hour with Jim Lehrer Transcript (PBS)

News Hour with Jim Lehrer Transcript (PBS)
NCAA BANS INDIAN MASCOTS
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sports/july-dec05/mascots_8-25.html

August 25 , 2005


The NCAA banned the "hostile and abusive" Native American mascots of 18 colleges and universities from postseason tournament play. Some schools are fighting to keep their imagery intact. A report looks at reactions from both sides of the debate.


ELIZABETH BRACKET: The moment the University of Illinois' Chief Illiniwek bursts onto the football field is a thrilling one for many Illinois students and alumni. It's also a heart-stopping moment for the performer. Tom Livingston remembers the feeling from his two seasons as Chief Illiniwek in the late 1980s.

TOM LIVINGSTON: When you would burst forth from a hidden position into fifty or sixty thousand people, it was like soaring over a cliff and up into a thundercloud. I mean, the energy, the electricity you felt not only as the person portraying Chief Illiniwek, but also the person observing it, either in an arena or in the stadium, and I think that makes people feel very strongly about it, very attached to it.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: But the chief's performance does not evoke the same feelings in everyone who watches. In 1989 Charlene Teeters, a Native American graduate student, launched a solitary protest against Chief Illiniwek. In the documentary, "In Whose Honor," she says her protest began after taking her two young children to an Illinois game.

CHARLENE TEETERS: My kids, my kids just sank in their seats. My daughter tried to become invisible. My son tried to laugh. With me is the sadness that still won't leave me. But the sadness turns to anger just like that.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: The protests against using Native American imagery in athletics have grown over the last thirty years. In August, the NCAA stepped in and banned colleges and universities that use what it termed hostile and abusive mascots, nicknames or imagery from hosting post-season play. Eighteen schools were affected. Florida State University immediately appealed, saying there was nothing hostile or abusive about their Chief Osceola or Seminole nickname. This week the NCAA relented, citing the Seminole Tribe's approval of the use of their name. The University of Illinois is also considering an appeal. Larry Eppley chairs the university's board of trustees. He was very disturbed by the words used by the NCAA.

LARRY EPPLEY: And they characterized the traditions of 18 institutions as hostile and abusive.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Why did you object to that so strongly?

LARRY EPPLEY: Well, we've been living with it for quite a long time. Almost since the inception of the debate over Chief Illiniwek rhetoric played a large part in it, and what we found was rhetoric did more to divide people than to ever steer anybody towards an outcome that they found acceptable. It created sort of a knife edge: Either the chief is up or it's down.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: The passions and the rhetoric surrounding the chief and the team's nickname, the Fighting Illini, do run high. Unlike the Seminole Tribe in Florida, the Peoria Tribe, the direct descendants of a group of tribes known as the Illiniwek or the Illini, do object to Chief Illiniwek and have asked the University of Illinois to stop using what they consider to be a degrading racial stereotype. So far the university continues to support the chief.

LARRY EPPLEY: It's tradition; it's university tradition. These things take root. They pass on from generation to generation. I can't tell you how many cards and letters we get from a grandparent saying I'm so happy my granddaughter or grandson is down there; I'm so happy the chief is still there.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: The chief's ceremony has been a part of the university's athletic events since 1926. Former chief Tom Livingston says the authentic costume and the ceremonial dance he performed in 1998 and as still performed today are designed to honor the Native Americans' history and their contributions to Illinois' culture.

TOM LIVINGSTON: I've looked tribal leaders in the eyes, I've looked other people that this is special to, and it ranges from "we're okay with it" to "it's beautiful; it's inspirational." There are some hard-nosed alumni who come back years later, and those tears begin to shed when they are inspired from an earlier day when they were younger at the university. And the chief attaches that to them, I think, often.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Chief Illiniwek's performance is closely tied in with the 300-strong Illinois marching band. At the first practice of the year the band is working hard on the classics, like the school's alma mater. Band director Tom Caneva says the chief is a critical part of the halftime atmosphere.

TOM CANEVA: You know, at a lot of the universities at halftime, the people in the stands leave and go get hot dogs and drinks and things. At Illinois they stay and, you know, we hope they are there to see the Marching Illini perform, but, you know, they're there to see Chief Illiniwek perform.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Less than 1 percent of the 38,000 students at the university are Native American. Many of the Illinois students we spoke to strongly support the chief.

DANA MAZZUCA: I'm pro-chief ever since I've been here. I don't think it's disrespectful in any way.

STEPHANIE LULAY: I think it's a great tradition for our school, and I think if it did change, a lot of alumni would be upset.

JESSICA WYNNS: I think that he should stay. I don't understand why there's such a dispute about it.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: The gulf between those who support the chief and those who are offended by him is deep. Native American Shannon Kobe watched a performance by the chief last season.

SHANNON KOBE: I, frankly, was personally just shocked and appalled.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Why is it racist?

SHANNON KOBE: It's reducing Indians to feathers, buckskin, beads. That's not what our culture is about. It's just narrowing in on one very small aspect of our culture, and in the Indian culture dancing has never been used solely for entertainment value. It's always had religious, other connotations.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Kobe, an attorney, has sued the University of Illinois, charging that continuing to allow the chief to be the university's symbol violates the Illinois Civil Rights Act. Professor Stephen Kaufman has objected to Chief Illiniwek and the nickname Fighting Illini for years. He thinks the university should have jumped at the chance the NCAA ruling gave it to end the controversy.

STEPHEN KAUFMAN: For so many years the leadership of the campus and the board of trustees have not been able to find a way out, and here the NCAA is stepping forth presenting an extraordinary opportunity, and instead of taking that opportunity, Mr. Eppley appears to be squabbling over language used by the NCAA.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Do you think the trustees were on their way to reaching some sort of consensus?

STEPHEN KAUFMAN: The trustees have been on their way for 15 years. It's a good thing they don't have to pay tuition.

ELIZABETH BRACKET: Illinois' football team is not worried. There is no post-season play in football, and Illinois does not have a large-enough facility to host NCAA post-season play for basketball. But all Illinois sports would be affected if schools follow the NCAA's strong suggestion that schools not schedule games with any school that uses native-American imagery. The new NCAA policy doesn't take effect until next February. The University of Illinois and the 16 remaining affected schools have until then to appeal.

Chief items still available on NCAA site

Chief items still available on NCAA site 
 

By JODI HECKEL
© 2005 THE NEWS-GAZETTE
Published Online August 26, 2005
 

   URBANA – NCAA officials may find the Chief Illiniwek logo and the name "Fighting Illini" to be "hostile and abusive" to American Indians. But they will sell you merchandise featuring the logo and nickname at their online store at www.shopncaasports.com.
   Among the items for sale are a pillow featuring the Chief Illiniwek logo and name "Fighting Illini" for $14.99, a ball cap with a Chief head logo for $17.99, and a 14-karat gold bracelet of linking Chief heads for $546.68.
   The merchandise on the Web site is arranged by school and includes several other items with the Chief head logo, including a street sign that says "Fighting Illini Ave.," blankets and jewelry.
   Fans can also buy a University of North Dakota hockey jersey with an Indian head logo, a University of Utah pillow with the name "Utes" and feather logo, a Central Michigan University wall clock with the name "Chippewas," and an Arkansas State University bean bag chair with the name "Indians."
   The NCAA recently banned such mascots, logos and nicknames – which it called "hostile and abusive" – from being displayed at any NCAA postseason events and prohibited schools using such American Indian imagery from hosting postseason events.
   "It is ironic that the NCAA's merchandising Web site is an online market for traditions and imagery they condemned three weeks ago," said UI spokesman Tom Hardy. "Maybe those traditions aren't hostile and abusive after all.
   "I think this underscores the fact that many of these traditions and images are honorably ingrained in the fabric of intercollegiate athletics in America and eliminating them is neither easy nor necessarily rational," he continued, "and that's a pretty good indication of why our board has a deliberate, measured approach toward a solution that makes sense for our institution and that the vast majority of people can live with."
   Bob Williams, a spokesman for the NCAA, said the organization decided to keep the merchandise on the Web site until the effective date of the restrictions on the use of American Indian imagery, which is Feb. 1, 2006. He said schools have until that date to ask for a review of the restrictions.
   "I believe it's consistent with the policy," Williams said of continuing to sell merchandise with American Indian imagery until then.
   "After Feb. 1, that imagery won't be part of any NCAA championship."
   He said the NCAA is paid a flat fee by CBS through a rights agreement to televise NCAA events and sell merchandise through the Web site, which states it is "in association with CBSSportsline.com".
   He said the NCAA does not receive money from the individual purchases made through the Web site.

NCAA policy change unclear

The Daily Illini - News
Issue: 8/24/05

NCAA policy change unclear
By Courtney Linehan

With aims of sending a clear message about its stance on what it considers "hostile and abusive" use of American Indian imagery, the NCAA executive committee ruled earlier this month to eliminate those images from postseason play.

While the Aug. 5 ruling sent a clear message about the NCAA's views of symbols like Chief Illiniwek, the immediate implications of its statements are still being clarified. For the University, no immediate change is planned at Assembly Hall, Huff Gym or Memorial Stadium. Chief Illiniwek will perform at the football season opener Sept. 3 at Memorial Stadium, and will continue to be present at home football, basketball and volleyball games throughout this fall.

But the NCAA's ruling may have far-reaching affects on Illinois' sports program.

"There will be no immediate change in the traditions and practices of the University at this time," University spokesman Tom Hardy said. "The plan now will be for Chief Illiniwek to continue doing what he's been doing.

"There are aspects of the decision that we feel need clarification. We're reviewing that and looking for answers from the NCAA before determining how we're going to proceed."

The NCAA executive committee ruled at its August meeting to prohibit member institutions from displaying in postseason competition what it deemed "hostile and abusive" racial, ethnic, or national origin-based mascots, nicknames and imagery. The measure came three months after 32 schools sent the NCAA self evaluations on their uses of words or images with American Indian connotations. Eighteen schools - including Illinois - were deemed to be in violation of the new policy.

In a press conference in which the NCAA announced its policy, indications were made that the policy was not established based on the content of those self evaluations. Ron Stratten, NCAA vice president for educational policy, said the NCAA hoped its member institutions would use the self evaluations as an opportunity to see where they should make changes on their own.

"The goal of self evaluation was to give the institution the opportunity to review its own policies and to look at the policies as they relate to the three goals of (the NCAA)," Stratten said. "And to really encourage the institutions to engage in a dialogue with American Indian cultures and tribes that are in their area and see how their actions are affecting those groups."

The University's response included a 13-page report and 27 related documents. Those included the 2000 Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek report, various Board of Trustees motions related to the school's nickname and symbol, and documentation of two Chief-related lawsuits. The NCAA looked at all 32 self evaluations and included every school that still uses any reference to American Indians on the list of "hostile and abusive" uses, said Gail Dent, NCAA associate director of public and media relations.

The list was established without a definition of "hostile and abusive." Dent said the idea was that any reference to American Indians was hostile and abusive, but added that individual institutions could appeal their inclusion on the list.

The policy only applies to schools using American Indian mascots. San Diego State University, which was asked to self-evaluate, was deemed to not be in violation because its "Aztecs" nickname and "Montezuma" mascot do not refer to American Indians.

"The issue focuses on Native Americans because Native Americans were the group that brought the issue to the NCAA's attention as imagery on campuses were offensive to them," Dent said.

The NCAA also offered generally applicable "recommended best practices" for the 18 violating schools to consider following. These include review and removal of "hostile and abusive references" from printed material and educating their school communities on the implications of hostile or abusive symbols.

The University's Board of Trustees is working towards a "consensus resolution," in which both pro- and anti-Chief opinions would be heard and considered in coming to a final conclusion about the symbol. Through this consensus resolution, the University already is working towards the NCAA's third recommendation of creating "a greater level of knowledge of Native American culture through outreach efforts and other means of communication."

The ruling emphasized that the NCAA could not tell member institutions which images or nicknames they could or could not adopt as symbols of their schools. But it stressed that the executive committee, which is composed of presidents from 19 schools, found these references unwelcome at postseason competition.

"What we're trying to say is that we find these abusive or hostile references to American Indian mascots to be unacceptable for NCAA championship competition," said Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA executive committee. "What an institution wishes to do is really its own business outside of NCAA championship competition."

Harrison said the Feb. 1, 2006, deadline is intended to give schools an opportunity to respond and possibly appeal.

This policy only affects NCAA postseason competitions. It does not apply to Big Ten tournaments. The Bowl Championship Series, another governing body, which overseas collegiate bowl games, has yet to rule on whether they will apply the same policy to the football postseason. The ruling will likely apply to the NIT basketball tournaments, but only because the NCAA recently purchased those programs.

For now, nothing will change at the University of Illinois.

The University will continue to work towards a consensus resolution. Chief Illiniwek will continue to perform. And the "Illini" name and Chief Illiniwek logo will still be used.

Hardy said that while the University was surprised by how harshly and vaguely the NCAA generalized the traditions of 18 different institutions, Illinois is paying close attention to what comes next and determining its own steps.

"We do know that any time the NCAA takes action like this it is a serious matter and we are treating it as a serious matter," Hardy said.

The new NCAA policy has four points:



1. UNIVERSITIES WITH 'HOSTILE AND ABUSIVE' USES CANNOT HOST POSTSEASON EVENTS

After Feb. 1, 2006, the NCAA will no longer award NCAA championship sites to schools that continue to use American Indian imagery. Dent said this includes all rounds of postseason competition. This means that fall sports like volleyball and soccer could potentially host competitions this fall, but that winter and spring contests, and all those in future years, will not be played at any school using American Indian imagery.

2. PRE-DETERMINED SITES MUST COVER REFERENCES TO AMERICAN INDIANS

If a school using American Indian imagery or nicknames in its athletic programs has already been awarded the chance to host an NCAA championship event, that school must take "reasonable steps" to cover those references. The University is not currently scheduled to host any postseason competitions, but again, could possibly host a fall contest.

Additionally, the individual schools must assume the cost of covering these references.

3. SCHOOLS MUST REMOVE REFERENCES FROM BAND, CHEERLEADER AND MASCOT UNIFORMS

NCAA member institutions have until Aug. 1, 2008, to remove references to American Indians from band, cheerleader, dance team and mascot uniforms when performing at NCAA championship events. However, this does not mean that Chief Illiniwek will be allowed to perform at postseason competitions until then. The Chief, which is officially a symbol of the University and not a mascot, is banned from performing at any postseason competitions, effective when the decision was released Aug. 5.

4. REFERENCES TO AMERICAN INDIANS MUST BE REMOVED FROM TEAM UNIFORMS IMMEDIATELY

Athletic teams of member institutions cannot display American Indian names or symbols on their uniforms in NCAA championship competition, effective immediately. The schools may continue to use these names and images during the regular seasons and conference tournaments, but not in postseason contests that the NCAA regulates.

Illini chief, you've got next appeal

From The Northwest Herald http://www.nwherald.com/print/317515154566016.php

Illini chief, you've got next appeal

In its haste for political correctness, the NCAA put the cart ahead of the horse, which, in this case, was Florida State's Appaloosa, Renegade.

Earlier this month, the NCAA tried to crack down on schools with "hostile" or "abusive" nicknames.

No longer would any school on the list be able to use nicknames or logos in postseason tournaments.

Florida State was on the list. So is Illinois, Bradley, Utah, Central Michigan and Alcorn State, to mention a few.

But that list is shrinking. Florida State won its appeal Tuesday when the NCAA recognized the relationship the university has with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

In a statement, NCAA senior vice president Bernard Franklin said, "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."

It seems the NCAA could have discovered this before rendering such a decision earlier this month, thus saving itself a ton of work on appeals.

Watch now as Illinois, North Dakota and others, all schools that try to honor specific tribes or customs, line up for their shots at preserving their mascots.

Certainly, there are Native American nicknames that are not as respectful.

But Illinois, Central Michigan and Utah are representing tribes indigenous to their areas.

Chief Illiniwek's dance was derived from one done by the Ogala Lakota tribe.

The school purchased an outfit for Chief Illiniwek in 1982 from a 93-year-old Sioux chief, Frank Fools Crow.

That seems more honorable than hostile.

The NCAA likely will get a bigger dose of history on matters like this in the next few days than it ever dreamt.

The Utes, Chippewas and Fighting Sioux will come calling, appealing to be removed from the list like Florida State, with Chief Osecola riding Renegade.

Football does not enter the equation because there is no NCAA Division I-A football tournament (and really, as we all know, no need for one with the glorious BCS figuring out which undefeated teams will play for the national title and which will be left out).

But in the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Illinois, as it stands now, will not be able to use the Chief or that logo.

The NCAA may have overstepped its boundaries in trying to legislate out ethnic nicknames.

It only has itself to blame for the mess and the long line of appeals. When it could be conducting real business, it will be fielding one appeal after another.

Next ...

* Joe Stevenson is a sportswriter for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached at (815) 526-4513 or via e-mail at jstevenson@nwherald.com.

Illini case isn't similar to Seminoles

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/cs-050823illini,1,1514324.story?coll=cs-college-headlines

Illini case isn't similar to Seminoles
By Neil Milbert
Tribune staff reporter

August 23, 2005, 10:28 PM CDT

CHAMPAIGN -- The chairman of the Illinois Board of Trustees applauded Tuesday's decision by the NCAA to allow Florida State to continue using its Seminoles nickname and imagery in postseason play.

But Lawrence Eppley said the Florida State situation was not analogous to Illinois' Fighting Illini nickname or Chief Illiniwek mascot.

"They based it on the maturity of the relationship with the Seminole tribe," Eppley said of the NCAA staff review committee's decision. "That's one of the things that makes their situation different from our situation. The NCAA pronouncement was too black and white for what is in the end a gray social issue."

Florida State and Illinois were among 18 schools the NCAA cited Aug. 5 as having Native American nicknames and mascots it deemed "hostile" or "abusive."

"The staff review committee noted the unique relationship between the university and the Seminole tribe of Florida as a significant factor [in exempting Florida State]," NCAA Senior Vice President Bernard Franklin said. "The decision of a namesake sovereign tribe regarding how its name and image can be used must be respected, even if others may not agree."

Postseason mascot and imagery bans on schools with Native American nicknames and mascots will take effect Feb. 1 and apply to all competition conducted by the NCAA. Schools have until then to appeal.

Florida State appealed immediately. School President T.J. Wetherell had threatened to sue the NCAA if the committee had upheld the postseason ban on identifying with the Seminoles.

Illinois President B. Joseph White and the board of trustees "don't have any timetable for making a decision" on whether to appeal, said Thomas Hardy, executive director of university relations.

Last week Eppley reacted to a letter from NCAA President Myles Brand in USA Today that lauded the Aug. 5 edict by strongly objecting to the "harsh rhetoric" it contained, namely use of the words "hostile" and "abusive" in characterizing Illinois' nickname and mascot.

Eppley pointed out that the nickname Illini had been coined by the student newspaper 52 years before the Chief Illiniwek tradition was introduced in 1926 by the Marching Illini band performing at athletic contests.

His research further revealed that the phrase "Fighting Illini" traced to a pregame promotional flier lauding the spirit of the 1919 football team and that the university's use of the nickname dates "to 1921 and the fund-raising campaign to build Memorial Stadium in honor of ... students and alumni who fought and died in World War I."

A distinction between the Florida State Seminoles and the Illinois Fighting Illini also exists because there never was an Illini tribe. Illini is derived from Illinois, the French spelling for the Native American word "Iliniwok," a confederation of the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michiganmea, Moinwena, Peoria and Tamaroa tribes.

nmilbert@tribune.com



Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune

Letters to the Editor (LA TIMES)

From LA Times (August 13, 2005)
VIEWPOINT/LETTERS

Fans Deem NCAA Mascot Rule Offensive
Why don't we all jump on the sensitivity bandwagon?

In case people forgot or never knew in the first place, mascots were always chosen to honor the school that chose them for their nobility and bravery. The PC police will never stop.

BLAINE OAKES
Lomita


It would be so refreshing if Bill Plaschke were required to do some research before writing a column.

Lumping Illinois' Chief Illiniwek and Florida State's Chief Osceola together with the nickname "Redskins" and the Cleveland Indians' caricatured mascot shows a deplorable level of ignorance.

First, Illinois' Chief Illiniwek does not "whoop" — ever; second, he is not dressed like a caricature, but dresses in the same deerskin clothing that was used by the Illiniwek Indians; third, what Plaschke calls "dancing like a fool" is a dance common to many Plains Indians. The Illinois student who portrays the chief studies and learns the dance from local Indian groups.

In other words, he educates himself about their culture so he can be as accurate a symbol of that lost culture as possible. Plaschke, on the other hand, far from educating himself, has quite obviously not even taken this issue seriously.

MICHAEL KENNEY
Woodland Hills



Bill Plaschke might find it interesting that the headdress used by Chief Illiniwek is made by a Sioux chief, Frank Fools Crow, for the university. One would think that if this were terribly racist, no Indian would commit such a sin.

STEVE ORTON
Los Angeles


It must be a slow news day when a writer of Bill Plaschke's stature feels compelled to attack a school mascot such as Chief Illiniwek.

The team name, Fighting Illini, should also not be included with the so-called abusive Indian names. "Illini" comes from the state's name, Illinois, which used to be an Indian tribe.

If the University of Illinois is banned from calling its team the Fighting Illini, maybe the state of Illinois should be forced to change its name too. Maybe Indiana, North and South Dakota and Minnesota and all the states with Indian names should follow suit.

MICHAEL BASKIN

Covina

 

 

The names or mascots are a minor issue when looking at the plight of American Indians today.

While we're at it, since my father is Swedish and my mother of Mexican descent, let's remove Vikings and Aztecs too, as it traumatizes me every time I see either team's mascot.

MATT PETERSON
Winnetka


Where does a group of academics get off deeming mascots to be offensive? Not even the tribal councils of the Seminoles or Utes were offended by Florida State's or Utah's use of their tribal names as mascots.

But the elite NCAA committee has now judged that they should have been. Perhaps the academics would make better use of their time teaching the rather obvious lesson on how easy it is to not take offense at something that was never meant to be offensive.

MEL WOLF
Burbank
 

 

Red Scare (Wall Street Journal)

LEISURE &ARTS
Red Scare

Today's Puritans attack Indian mascots.

BY KENNETH L. WOODWARD

European intellectuals have long complained of excessive moralism in American foreign policy, politics and attitudes toward sex--the lingering effect, as they see it, of our Puritan heritage. But if they want to spot the real Puritans among us, they should read our sports pages.

Last week, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced that it would ban the use of Native American team names and mascots in all NCAA-sponsored postseason tournaments. If a team turns up wearing uniforms with words like "Indians," "Braves" or similar nicknames the association deems "hostile and abusive," that team will be shown the locker-room door. Surely I was not the only reader who noticed that this edict came out of the NCAA's headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Already, one university president, T.K. Weatherall of Florida State, one of 18 colleges and universities on the Association's blacklist, is threatening to take legal action--and I hope he does. Florida State's athletic teams are called the Seminoles, and the university says it has permission from that tribe in Florida to use that name. Not good enough, counters Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's new vice president for "diversity and inclusion." "Other Seminole tribes," she claims, "are not supportive."

One might suppose that any organization with an Office of Diversity and Inclusion would welcome mascots and team names reflecting the Native Americans among us. But no, the NCAA is on a moral mission--the less sensitive might call it a warpath--to pressure colleges and universities to adopt its standards for iconic correctness. Cheered on by moralizing sportswriters like George Vecsey of the New York Times, Jon Saraceno of the USA Today and the entire sports department of the Portland Oregonian, which will not print "hostile" nicknames of teams ( e.g., it calls the Washington Redskins "the football team from Washington"), several member schools have already caved in.

Stanford was the first major university to drop Indians as its athletic moniker; that was 30 years ago, when group identities and sensitivities were the most inflamed. Stanford's teams are now the Cardinal, presumably for the color of their jerseys. But who can tell?--it may have hidden ecclesiastical connotations. Marquette changed from Warriors to Golden Eagles, despite continuing complaints from alumni who find it as difficult as I do to imagine why the Warrior image would offend any Native American. After all, their forefathers weren't wimps.

Perhaps the most craven decision was that of St. John's University, which changed from the Red Men to the Red Storm. In both its former and current names, "Red" referred to the color of the St. John's uniforms--not to Native Americans, of which there are very few in Queens, N.Y. The change is reminiscent of a decision by Cincinnati's pro baseball team, which changed its name from Reds to Redlegs during the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s.

Interestingly, the NCAA has made an exception for the Braves of the University of North Carolina-Pembroke because the school has a tradition of enrolling Native American students. Maybe this will clear the way for Dartmouth's Big Green to restore its Indian mascot and team name, Indians, which the school dropped in 1969. After all, Dartmouth was founded by Eleazar Wheelock, a Puritan minister, for the purpose of providing "Christianization, instruction and education" for "Youth of the Indian Tribes of this Land. . .and also of English Youth and any others." The college still offers a major in Native American Studies and since 1970 has graduated some 500 American Indians.

The NCAA, thank God, has no control over pro sports teams and their chosen totems. But among sportswriters there are voices that echo the same faux moralizing by demanding name changes from the Atlanta Braves, Golden State Warriors, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks and Cleveland Indians. In a typical column, Mr. Saraceno recently lamented the abject failure of "activists" to get Cleveland's baseball team to drop its logo, Chief Wahoo, which, he opined, "is probably the most outrageous, blatant symbol of racism in sports today."

I don't know where Mr. Saraceno was in the early '60s, when racism wore a human face. I was a civil-rights reporter in Nebraska then and remember visiting American Indian reservations where I saw kids wearing caps festooned with the Milwaukee Braves' logo and--yes--with Chief Wahoo. In 2002, Sports Illustrated published a survey of American Indians living on and off reservations. More than eight in 10 approved the use of Indian names and mascots for college and pro teams; a slight majority even approved of the clearly questionable "Redskins."

Moralistic sportswriters need to distinguish between Native American activists and paternalistic surrogates. In Cleveland, for example Mr. Saraceno's unnamed activists are primarily officials of the United Church of Christ, an ultra-liberal Protestant denomination that moved its national headquarters there from New York in 1990 and immediately began a campaign against the Indians and Chief Wahoo. As it happens, the church is the denominational descendent of the old New England Puritans, now committed to diversity and inclusion. I was raised in Cleveland, and these interlopers don't seem to know or care that the baseball team took its current name in 1915 to honor popular outfielder Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot Indian from Maine who batted .313 lifetime. His teammates called him "Chief."

As a matter of policy, the NCAA now encourages schools to imitate the University of Iowa, which won't allow its Hawkeyes to compete against nonconference schools that "use Native American nicknames, imagery or mascots," although "Iowa," itself, is a tribal name. Where does that leave the University of Illinois--a school in the same athletic conference, the Big 10--whose teams are called the Fighting Illini and whose gridiron mascot is Chief Illiniwek? Illiniwek--the word signifies "man"--was the name of an Indian confederation that the French called Illinois. If "the Fighting Illini" is "hostile and antagonistic" in the eyes of the NCAA, must the university, too, change its name? And the state as well? What about North and South Dakota? Or community colleges in Miami, Cheyenne, Pueblo and Peoria--Indian names all--not to mention a city named Sioux? Where do embedded history and folkloric iconography end and negative stereotyping begin?

Here's a suggestion: If the NCAA and other latter-day Puritans are concerned about social prejudice, they ought to investigate Notre Dame. Surely the name for its athletic teams, the Fighting Irish, is a slur on all Irish-Americans. The label derives from anti-Catholic nativists who reviled the poor and mostly uneducated Irish immigrants who came to these shores in the mid-19th century--a drunken, brawling breed, it was said, who espoused the wrong religion. When the fabled Four Horsemen played football for Notre Dame, the team was called the Ramblers. In 1927, the university officially adopted the Fighting Irish, thereby transforming a pejorative nickname into something to cheer about.

If there are Native Americans who feel that Indians or Warriors or Braves is somehow demeaning, they might reflect on the Notre Dame experience. And if the NCAA really cares about diversity and inclusion, it ought to establish an office of Indian Affairs to help Native American athletes with collegiate aspirations. Meanwhile, all paleface Puritan surrogates, beginning with the NCAA, should butt out.

Mr. Woodward, a contributing editor at Newsweek, is writing a history of American religion and culture since 1950.

Mocking tradition and autonomy

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=58826

 

The PCAA:
Mocking tradition and autonomy

THE NCAA'S executive committee voted last week to ban from its postseason tournaments the mascots of all schools with Indian nicknames that the committee classifies as "hostile or abusive." Nor can schools with such mascots and nicknames host NCAA postseason tournaments. Among the affected schools is Illinois, whose teams are called the Illini after the local confederation of Indian tribes. When a school's "hostile or abusive" nickname is the root word for the state's own name, the absurdity of the NCAA's decision should be obvious.

The committee pronounced its verdict from NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. "Indiana" means "Land of Indians." The NCAA presumably will announce its move to a politically correct state soon.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida officially endorses Florida State University's use of the Seminole name. The Tribal Council unanimously voted in April to reaffirm this support. In an astounding act of racist paternalism, the NCAA executive committee defined FSU's use of the Seminoles name as "hostile or abusive."

In the name of sensitivity the NCAA is engaging in the very sort of racism it claims to be fighting. The all-knowing white people (three of the committee's 19 members are black) will decide for everyone what shall be done.

Such arrogance is the province of kings, sultans and committees with too much power and too little accountability.

Letter from Chairman BOT (USA TODAY)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-08-17-letters-ncaa_x.htm NCAA's 'incendiary rhetoric' damages debate on mascots NCAA President Myles Brand describes the NCAA Executive Committee's incendiary rhetoric on the issue of Native American imagery as a "teachable moment." Surely, there are better ways of "initiating discussion" than to decree that the traditions of 18 member institutions are "hostile and abusive" ("NCAA takes high road with ban of offensive mascots," The Forum, Aug. 11). The committee's inflammatory rhetoric doesn't create a teachable moment. Instead, it retards meaningful discussion. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we are engaged in a dialogue regarding our 80-year-old Chief Illiniwek tradition. For years, the debate was hamstrung by the kind of harsh rhetoric the NCAA espoused. It only entrenched opinions and left us with a Hobson's choice. Eighteen months ago, we decided to tack away from the extremists on both sides and set a goal of reaching a consensus solution. What we found since then is the opportunity for real, substantive and constructive dialogue. Our goal is a solution that embraces heritage and culture through the resources and reach of a major university, not one that pretends American Indians never thrived and created a rich history in our state. It's noteworthy that the NCAA's edict directly contradicts a 1995 finding by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which concluded that Chief Illiniwek's existence didn't constitute a "racially hostile environment." Our focus also has been on the Chief Illiniwek tradition, not on "Illini" or "Fighting Illini." Coined by our student newspaper 52 years before the Chief Illiniwek tradition was established, "Illini" is merely a moniker derived from our state's name. "Fighting Illini" dates to 1921 and the campaign to build Memorial Stadium in honor of students and alumni who fought and died in World War I. Mr. Brand's commentary missed the point. The likely and ironic consequence of the NCAA's provocative rhetoric will be a giant step backward in the debate, re-engagement of harsh and disingenuous rhetoric, and the loss of common ground to the armies of divisiveness. Lawrence C. Eppley, Chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Illinois, Palatine, Ill.

National Review (Commentary Piece)

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/wood200508230805.asp

The Diversity Bowl
No admittance to the abusively named.

By Peter Wood

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's recent decision to ban tournament play for 18 colleges until they agree to change their American Indian-themed nicknames and mascots comes not a moment too soon. I was just about to take a fateful step. As the new provost of a small college in New York City, I had been searching for a way to honor local traditions and pay respect to city's rich heritage.

But now that NCAA has determined that commercializing on Native American identity outside the decorous context of slot machines and craps tables is in bad taste, it's finito for the King's College's Manhattan-Algonquin Wampum-Waving Ticket Scalpers. Likewise our mascot, Chief Bradembucks, must go the way of the buffalo and the passenger pigeon. No more will crowds roar in antic approval as the chief, red-faced and clad only in Oxford pants, makes his signature gesture, the double cross.

Incidentally, the role of mascot often takes considerable acrobatic as well as theatrical skill. At one point in his routine, Chief Bradembucks had to bound backwards on to an ass and ride in concentric circles. Our mathematics faculty said this was impossible until the chief demonstrated the feat. Bradembucks premature retirement will be a loss for all of higher education.

To be clear, Chief Bradembucks looks nothing at all like John Brademus, the scrupulous former Democratic congressman, friend to the Clintons, and New York State Regent who tried and failed to torpedo the college by holding up its accreditation.

But I don't want to make too much of our loss. Clearly the folks at Florida State University have a bigger problem if they are forced to forfeit the Seminoles as their team name. FSU has appealed. The Chronicle of Higher Education likewise noted the challenges that face the University of North Dakota that has its "Fighting Sioux" logo carved in rock at its $100 million Ralph Engelstad Arena. Loyalty to team names and mascots may have been the last redoubt of emotional resistance to the tyranny of multicultural sensitivity on college campuses.

You can find a handful of intellectual resistors to the incoherent claims of diversiphiles on almost any campus, but they have little clout. The Left has won this battle over multiculturalism in the curriculum, faculty hiring, race-themed dorms, and all the rest not because it won the arguments, but largely because it sold a more compelling emotional story. Repackaging racial quotas in colleges admissions as a kind of "inclusion" appeals to a vague sense of generosity. In fact, metaphoric "inclusion" for some means genuine exclusion for others, as we saw when Jennifer Gratz appealed her rejection by the University of Michigan all the way to the Supreme Court.

The slippery word play is important. After all, Justice O'Connor was able to wink at grievous constitutional faults to uphold the University of Michigan's feel-good version of racism by indulging such mischievous words in the Left's lexicon. But those words work because they evoke a free-floating spirit of open-heartedness. Diversiphile-speak has a rich vocabulary of trapdoor words that trigger this response while, less obtrusively, announcing a much less open-hearted policy. Words such as "welcoming" (which means unconditional respect for behavior that doesn't deserve it) and "tolerance" (which frequently means no dissenting opinions will be permitted) comprise a vocabulary fine-tuned to the longing by most Americans to feel a kind of grudgeless amity for people at large.

That basic sense of decency is among the most attractive qualities of our national character. And it is annoying to see it played so adroitly by the Left for an agenda that is not at all decent: the perpetuation of a racial spoils system in higher education and almost every other institutional context.

College-sports nicknames and mascots were a natural target for the purveyors of a politics of racial resentment, and indeed many colleges gave up the fight long ago. Some of the holdouts, like the University of Illinois with its Chief Illiniwek, held out mostly because of the bluff indifference of alumni to the accusations that rained down on them. Few college presidents have that much spine.

So when the NCAA formed a commission four years ago to "study" the matter, the conclusion was pretty much foreordained. The NCAA commission was not about to question the good faith or the motives of Native Americans who claimed to be offended by such symbols or many others who regard Indian logos as inherently demeaning. Sure enough when NCAA's "Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion," Charlotte Westerhaus, described the policy, she said the organization was acting against names that are "hostile and abusive." NPR quickly chimed in with commentary by TV producer John Ridley, who mocked Florida Governor Jeb Bush for supporting the FSU's use of the Seminole name. The university has the permission and support of the Florida Seminole tribe, but other Seminoles in Oklahoma dislike it. Ridley sarcastically praised the rights of non-minorities to caricature the names and symbols of minority groups: a rather deft bit of hocus-pocus from a man who earns his living purveying comic racial stereotypes.

In the broader culture wars, the fight over Indian nicknames is a loser for conservatives. The Alcorn State University Braves, the Central Michigan University Chippewas, the Mississippi College Choctaws, and the University of Utah Utes will have to go it alone. I don't believe for a second that these names were adopted with malice; that they are hostile; or that anyone is "abused" by them. They do, however, have the capacity to irritate people, and it is hard to be on the side of chaffing when no really compelling principle favors it. A spontaneous show of affection for the team names and mascots by a large number of fans just might deflate people like Charlotte Westerhaus and John Ridley, and just maybe FSU alumni will pull it off. But even if they do, a stale conformity will still settle over this aspect of college sports — and America will be just a little bit poorer for the loss of historical reference and cultural exuberance.

For what it is worth, however, the use of Indian tribal names and imagery to evoke a sense of intrepid courage in the face of a foe and fierceness in battle is not all Hollywood hokum and American mythologizing. A great many tribes, including the Seminoles, cast themselves in this light and lived up to it in their battles with each other and with Europeans. Adopting the names of such groups may be pretty low rent as a form of tribute by outsiders, but it is also pretty low rent as a form of exploitation.

Chief Bradembucks, by contrast, was a caricature that stood on high principle. Chaffing some of the bullies that swagger around New York State politics is good clean fun and just what a small college like King's should do. Is it too much to hope that some of the victims of NCAA's forced march through sensitivity training will respond with some memorable half-time shows that pay tribute to the deep thinkers who set this policy in motion?

— Peter Wood, provost of The King's College in New York City, is author of Diversity: The Invention of A Concept.

Illinois decries NCAA 'rhetoric'

Illinois decries NCAA 'rhetoric'

Trustee says Chief, school's nickname are different issues

By Neil Milbert

Tribune staff reporter

August 16, 2005,

 CHAMPAIGN -- The chairman of the Illinois Board of Trustees said Tuesday the NCAA's characterization of the words Illini and Fighting Illini and the mascot Chief Illiniwek as "hostile" and "abusive" to Native Americans injected "incendiary rhetoric" and has created an impediment to a solution.

"My point was not pro-Chief or con-Chief," Chairman Lawrence Eppley told the Tribune. "It was Chief-neutral. My point is: What's the point of the rhetoric?"

Eppley's remarks came in the wake of a commentary by NCAA President Myles Brand published in USA Today concerning the NCAA Executive Committee's decision to bar Illinois and 17 other schools from hosting postseason events and using Native American imagery on uniforms or logos and banning performances by their mascots in tournaments.

In his commentary, Brand called the decision "a teachable moment" in initiating a national discussion about the portrayal of Native Americans.

"The Executive Committee's uninformed use of inflammatory rhetoric does not create a teachable moment," Eppley said in a rebuttal letter sent to USA Today and the Champaign News-Gazette but not published as of Tuesday. "Instead, it retards meaningful discussion ... on an important issue, especially in the communities of 18 institutions 'branded' by the NCAA as politically incorrect.

"Surely there are better ways of initiating discussion on a national basis than to decree that the traditions of 18 member institutions, many of which are rooted in reverence and decorum, are 'hostile' and 'abusive.'

"At the University of Illinois we are engaged in a dialogue regarding our 80-year-old Chief Illiniwek tradition. Our goal is a solution that embraces heritage and culture through the resources and reach of a major university, not one that pretends American Indians never thrived and created a rich history in our state."

Eppley emphasized that "the Chief issue" and "the name issue" are different.

"We feel they shouldn't be connected," he said. "They meet up in athletics, but historically there is a significant disconnection between the two.

"Our research showed the nicknames Illini and Fighting Illini to be outside the American Indian derivation. Here comes the NCAA and throws them together [with Chief Illiniwek]. It's a giant step backward."

University research shows the state of Illinois was named after the Illinois River. The river was named by a French explorer in 1679, and the name came from the Native Americans who lived along its banks. Illinois was the French spelling of the Native American word Iliniwok. The Iliniwok were a confederation of the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michiganmea, Moinwena, Peoria and Tamaroa tribes.

An abbreviated version was adopted by students at the university in 1874 when the school newspaper changed its named from the Student to the Illini.

The evolution from Illini to Fighting Illini stemmed from the vernacular use of "fighting" that conveyed the sense of trying to succeed and dates back to coach Bob Zuppke's championship football team of 1919. "Coined by our student newspaper 52 years before the Chief Illiniwek tradition was established, 'Illini' is merely a moniker derived from our state's name, which like the names of 27 other states and countless villages and cities is derived from a Native American term," Eppley said in his letter.

"'Fighting Illini' can be traced to the campaign to build Memorial Stadium in honor of University of Illinois students and alumni who fought and died in World War I."

Eppley also cited a 1995 finding by the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights that seems to contradict the NCAA's designation of the nickname and mascot as "hostile" and "abusive." Said Eppley:

"After exhaustively investigating a formal complaint that the Chief [and] the name Fighting Illini violated provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1994, the OCR concluded that the existence of the Chief did not constitute a racially hostile environment at the university.

"I know what we've been trying to accomplish-without the clutter and noise. We've [made] progress. I'm still optimistic."

 

UI blasts NCAA for 'inflammatory rhetoric'

UI blasts NCAA for 'inflammatory rhetoric'

August 16, 2005

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHAMPAIGN -- The University of Illinois is criticizing the NCAA for "inflammatory rhetoric" in its recent decision to sanction universities that use American Indian nicknames and mascots for their sports teams.

The NCAA's use of the words "hostile" and "abusive" to characterize some of those, including Illinois' Illini and Chief Illiniwek, was particularly disappointing, UI board chairman Lawrence C. Eppley wrote in a letter Monday to USA Today.

Eppley's letter, which the university has not been told will be published, is a response to an essay by NCAA President Myles Brand published in the newspaper last week.

In the essay, Brand called the NCAA's decision a "teachable moment" aimed at initiating a national discussion about how American Indians have been characterized.

"The Executive Committee's uninformed use of inflammatory rhetoric does not create a 'teachable moment,"' Eppley wrote. "Instead, it retards meaningful debate on an important issue, especially in the communities of the 18 institutions 'branded' by the NCAA as politically incorrect."

The NCAA's executive committee decided Aug. 5 to ban the use of American Indian mascots or nicknames by sports teams during its postseason tournaments. It also plans to bar teams that use them from hosting postseason events.

"Everyone has the opportunity to express their opinion and Mr. Eppley certainly has a right to do so," said Wally Renfro, Brand's senior adviser. "But this is an effort that took place over an extended period of time. This is a debate that has gone on in the NCAA for four years and the policy adopted by the executive committee was a result of that discussion."

In announcing its decision, the NCAA said at least 18 schools, including Illinois and Peoria's Bradley University, where teams are nicknamed the Braves, have mascots it deems "hostile or abusive." The NCAA did not immediately define what it would consider hostile or abusive.

The Chief, a student dressed in buckskins who dances at halftime of regular-season home football and basketball games and other athletic contests, has been a flashpoint for years on the campus.

The board of trustees has approved a resolution to seek "consensus conclusion" to the issue, but Eppley said the NCAA's action threatens to derail that process.

"The likely and ironic consequence of the NCAA's provocative rhetoric will be a giant step backward in the debate, re-engagement of harsh and disingenuous rhetoric and the loss of common ground to the armies of divisiveness," Eppley wrote.

Champaign-Urbana News Gazette

Champaign-Urbana News Gazette

Board chair blasts NCAA stance

By JODI HECKEL

© 2005 THE NEWS-GAZETTE

Published Online August 16, 2005

 

CHICAGO - The NCAA's actions earlier this month against schools with "hostile or abusive" American Indian imagery is "a giant step backward" in the debate over use of such imagery, said University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence Eppley.

Eppley said he was disappointed by the organization's use of the terms "hostile" and "abusive."

"A lot of us locally have seen how unhelpful that has been," he said. "We've spent a lot of time getting that out of our (discussions)."

Eppley on Monday sent a letter regarding the NCAA decision to USA Today, in response to a commentary by NCAA President Myles Brand that was published Aug. 11.

The NCAA's recommendations included prohibiting schools using what it deemed "hostile or abusive" American Indian imagery from hosting national championship tournaments, and from using such imagery, nicknames or mascots at NCAA postseason events.

Brand called the NCAA's decision a "teachable moment" aimed at initiating a national discussion about how American Indians have been characterized.

"This is not about an effort to be politically correct. It is about doing the right thing," Brand wrote. "It is time to bring such practices to an end."

Rather than a "teachable moment," Eppley said in his response that the "uninformed use of inflammatory rhetoric ... instead retards meaningful discussion and debate on an important issue, especially in the communities of the 18 institutions 'branded' by the NCAA as politically incorrect."

The board of trustees has been trying to reach a consensus solution to the Chief Illiniwek issue, which Eppley said has moved the discussions from "harsh rhetoric" to "constructive dialogue." But he said the NCAA's use of the terms "hostile" and "abusive" could mean a loss of common ground.

Chief opponent and UI cell and structural biology Professor Stephen Kaufman said Eppley is attacking the NCAA's choice of words while he and the other trustees have failed to resolve the issue. This gives them "no quarter to complain" when the NCAA reviews the issue and takes a stand, he said.

"If the Illinois trustees do not have the courage to retire Fighting Illini and their fake chief, they should at least welcome the NCAA's initiative and willingness to take the heat on this," Kaufman said.

The NCAA's objections to uses of American Indian imagery include "Fighting Illini." In July, the board of trustees approved guidelines on the issue that called for keeping the name "Fighting Illini."

"We've been focused on the Chief. There are viewpoints that wrap them together (but) at least historically, there is a significant disconnection between the two," Eppley said, noting the name "Illini" predates the Chief, and "Fighting Illini" referred to UI students and alumni who fought in World War I and was used to help raise money for Memorial Stadium.

"The evidence we're seeing and weighing is the names ought to be taken out of the discussion," Eppley said.

He has discussed the recommendations with UI President B. Joseph White, Chancellor Richard Herman and Athletic Director Ron Guenther. He said they are going over the information they have received from the NCAA, and they have not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.

Editorial: Chief Illiniwek decision needs to get out of limbo

Pantagraph Editorial

Monday, August 1, 2005

Chief Illiniwek decision needs to get out of limbo

The longer the decision on the future of the Chief Illiniwek remains in limbo, the more this issue will generate ill will among those on both sides, and toward the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The decision should be made soon.

On June 17, 2004, U of I trustees approved a resolution concerning Chief Illiniwek by a vote of 9-1.

It was resolved that "the board shall seek a consensus conclusion to the matter of Chief Illiniwek, and that the board should next consider and approve guidelines pursuant to which a consensus conclusion will be based."

Over a year later, little has been reported about progress, and the issue continues to percolate, if not boil.

Those alumni and fans who support keeping the Chief, some who saw his first performance in 1926, love him even more. They have transferred to their team the alleged Illini tribe meaning of "Illiniwek," as "the complete human being -- the strong, agile human body; the unfettered human intellect; the indomitable human spirit."

The performance by Chief Illiniwek has become a revered tradition and any threat of discontinuing it evokes very strong emotions. In fact, a report to the board by its legal counsel indicated that a recent Sun-Times Poll concluded that 86 percent of Illinois residents favor keeping the Chief.

...continues