More Indian Tribes Being Steamrolled By Bureaucratic Political Correctness
Here in North Dakota voters will be going to the polls in just a couple of weeks to vote on a measure to keep the University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname and logo put on the ballot by the state’s Sioux Indians who believe it to be a part of their heritage.
They’re opposed by the NCAA and North Dakota’s higher education elite who feel they know what’s offensive to Indians better than the Indians do.
It’s worth noting that North Dakota isn’t the only place where this sort of a battle is playing out. In Oregon two tribes are protesting a ruling that makes Native American-themed mascots/nicknames used at Native American-managed reservation schools illegal.
PORTLAND, Ore.—Tribes on two Oregon Indian reservations this week protested a new rule by Oregon education officials that bans public schools from using Native American imagery in team names and mascots.
The rule, which the Oregon State Board of Education adopted last week, is believed to be the nation’s toughest in regulating team names, logos and mascots used in public school athletics, and it follows similar attempts in other states to limit imagery deemed offensive to Native Americans.
Opposition to the Oregon law is rising from two tribes, which rejected the education officials’ decision on different grounds. The Confederated Tribe of Siletz Indians, whose reservation lies between the Oregon Coast and the capital of Salem, denounced the rule because its school uses a now-proscribed nickname, The Warriors.
“We will do whatever we can to overturn the Education Board’s decision,” said Tribal Chairman Delores Pigsley.
The Confederated Tribes of La Ronde, southwest of Portland, complained the ruling “trampled on our sovereignty” and ignored the tribe’s longstanding calls for change in how native history is taught in Oregon Public schools.
It is amazing that the absurdity of political correctness has advanced so far that its proponents are erasing Indian imagery and names from our society over the protests of actual Indians.
And these names are important. After all, the politicians certainly take the naming of post officecs, airports and public buildings after them pretty seriously. Why would we be surprised that these Native Americans would be outraged when told the use of their names and their imagery is insulting to them?
Tags: fighting sioux, North Dakota News, University of North Dakota
