Say Anything Blog

Another story I missed over the weekend.

The NCAA Executive Committee today denied the appeals of the University of North Dakota and two other universities to retain their use of Native American nicknames, mascots and imagery at NCAA-sanctioned postseason events.

According to an NCAA release, the panel determined that Native American references used by North Dakota, the University of Illinois and Indiana University of Pennsylvania "create hostile or abusive environments inconsistent with the NCAA constitution and inconsistent with the NCAA commitment to diversity, respect and sportsmanship." The decision doesn't force North Dakota, the University of Illinois and Indiana University of Pennsylvania to change its nicknames, but the schools won't be allowed to participate in NCAA championships if Native American references appear on the team's uniforms or other items associated with the university.

North Dakota and Indiana are also prohibited from hosting NCAA championship events -- Illinois was spared this sanction after successfully lobbying in November that its "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" referred to the state of Illinois and not a Native American group. North Dakota hosted this year's NCAA hockey West Regional at Ralph Engelstad Arena, attracting 22,654 fans to Grand Forks, a two-day attendance record for regional play.

This part was interesting.

According to Friday's Grand Forks Herald, UND president Charles Kupchella sent a letter to the NCAA this week stating the university had the support of the state's Sioux tribes to continue using the nickname. However, the chairman of one of the tribes refuted that claim and told the newspaper his band was behind the NCAA's effort.

I had posted earlier about UND receiving support from the Standing Rock tribe. This reporting from the St. Paul Pioneer Press helps clear up some of the confusion.

North Dakota President Charles Kupchella was surprised by the rejection after the university included a letter from Archie Fool Bear, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's judicial committee, in its documentation.

The problem, committee chair Walter Harrison said, was that Standing Rock chairman Ron His Horse Is Thunder also sent a letter — opposing North Dakota's nickname.

This may surprise you, but the mixed messages from North Dakota's Indian tribes is consistent with the views they've expressed all along in that they've been consistently inconsistent. The Spirit Lake tribe, for instance, expressed support for UND's nickname/logo back in 2000 but recanted that in August of last year. This back-and-forth among the Indians over this controversy leads this cynical observer to believe that the Indians are divided into two camps: Those who don't mind the logo/nickname and those who would like to see their tribe get some sort of licensing agreement from the school.

I am firmly convinced that most of the concern over "hostile environments" and "racial bigotry" comes from collegiate, elitist liberals...most of whom have probably never set foot on an Indian reservation.