Media reports I’ve seen have allowed the State Board of Higher Education to try to hang the retirement of the UND Fighting Sioux logo and nickname around the neck of the Standing Rock Sioux nation. This is not the case; rather, a select group of unelected bureaucrats have made this decision on their own.

Archie Fool Bear, a member of tribal government, was on the Scott Hennen show last week and shed some light on the situation that puts to rest the lie that the nickname and logo are “hostile and abusive” as well as the idea that the tribe is responsible for last week’s hasty decision:

Click here to listen to the podcast in MP3 format.

In an article in the Star Tribune which no longer appears online, reporter Katherine Kersten pointed out that most of the people “offended” by the logo are not Native Americans. She also had a very telling quote by Mr. Fool Bear:

Members of the Standing Rock judicial committee visited UND early in 2006 to assess the situation for themselves. “We spoke to everyone, from students on the street to people at the gas station,” says Fool Bear. “Not one gave us any evidence of racism. We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ”

White Mountain recalls the committee’s meeting with a UND group that opposes the name. “I asked them, ‘What tribe do you belong to?’ ” he says. “Not one was a Sioux Indian.”This group insisted that the name promotes racism on campus,” adds Fool Bear. “I told them, ‘Put any instances of abuse in writing.’ Today, I’m still waiting — I haven’t gotten one complaint.”

If anything is “hostile and abusive” at UND, it’s the way that some activists treat Indian students who take a different view.

“Our young people go there to get an education,” says Fool Bear. “When they arrive, they’re asked, ‘What do you think of the logo?’ If they have no problem with it, they are badgered and harassed for four years.”

I still maintain that this whole “hostile and abusive” nonsense is simply a pet project by a bunch of busybody liberals. The tribe plans to go ahead with its petitions to get a vote on support of the logo before November if possible. I hope we can still turn this around and save our University’s logo and nickname!

By the way, please take a few minutes to (politely) voice your opinions to the unelected members of the State Board of Higher Education for this ludicrous decision:

President Richie Smith: richard.e.smith.2@ndus.edu
Vice President Jon Backes: jon.backes@ndus.edu
Sue Andrews: sue.andrews@ndus.edu
Duaine Espegard: duaine.espegard@ndus.edu
Rachelle Hadland: rachelle.hadland@ndus.edu
Michael Haugen: michael.haugen@ndus.edu
Grant Shaft: grant.shaft@ndus.edu
Claus Lembke: claus.lembke@ndus.edu

When you write to Claus Lembke you really should thank him for his motion to reconsider last week. He actually gets it, apparently. Sadly, none of these other folks would second his motion and it went nowhere. Instead they went ahead and chose to retire the logo against the will of the tribes. Oh, how I wish we could vote (most of) these people off the SBHE, but they’re all appointed!

Josie Harper, apparently the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Dartmouth College, sent this letter to the Dartmouth newspaper:

I am writing to strongly denounce the historical and recent affronts to the Native American community at Dartmouth and to offer the support of the athletics department in playing a leading role to combat racial, ethnic and sexist ignorance and intolerance on our campus.

At the same time, I must offer a sincere apology to the Native American community, and the Dartmouth community as a whole, for an event that will understandably offend and hurt people within our community. In late December, we will host a men’s ice hockey tournament that includes the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. UND is one of 14 colleges or universities that continue to maintain a Native American name and image to represent their athletic teams.

Let me state clearly that UND’s position is offensive and wrong. When we scheduled UND nearly two years ago to participate in our tournament, we did so without considering their team’s nickname and symbol. Perhaps we should have, but I deeply regret that we didn’t.

On Friday, as I was traveling on College business, a member of my staff met with the Native American Council to discuss our hockey tournament and to offer our apology for the pain that it will cause. In the days and weeks ahead, I will develop a specific and continuing plan to address issues of respect and tolerance within the athletic department as well as considering a policy for scheduling athletic contests against institutions that support offensive nicknames and symbols.

This is my response, a draft of which was sent to The Dartmouth:

I was surprised by Josie Harper’s letter apologizing for the “pain” caused by hosting the UND Fighting Sioux at their hockey tournament. I had no idea that Native Americans were present in such great numbers at Dartmouth and were so easily offended by our state’s tribute to the brave spirit of the Sioux warriors.

Right now North Dakota is under attack by a select few out-of-state advocates of political correctness. They claim our logo, drawn by a Native American artist, is “hostile and abusive.” I invite them to actually visit us sometime. Our highway signs and Highway Patrol cars have Native American figures on them. The hospital near my house has an area devoted to burning sage and other traditional Native American healing practices. UND itself hosts dozens of programs for Native Americans including the INMED program, which trains one fifth of the nation’s Indian physicians, as well as cultural programs, eight publications, and seven student organizations.

The only oppression I’ve heard of is of Native students who don’t mind the nickname. They’re treated like the Midwest’s version of an “Uncle Tom” by the PC police. Archie Fool Bear, chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe judicial committee, says his tribe’s leadership doesn’t represent the vast majority of tribal members. He said, “We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ” How do the politically correct crowd honor this tribal elder? By trying to oust him from the tribal government.

We’d be just fine if a bunch of out of state PC liberals would quit trying to tell us how things need to be out here in flyover country. Perhaps if our team showed up named the UND Brave White Men we’d be more welcome. Then again, every single special interest riding Josie Harper’s politically correct bandwagon would then have a unifying reason to apologize for North Dakota’s painful presence. In the mean time, the only place we’ll apply real pain is on the ice, where it belongs…and actually exists.

Political correctness is insane. Heaven forbid we should offend anybody, anywhere, at any time! That is, of course, they happen to be white, heterosexual, Christian, male, or any combination thereof. Those are oppressive qualities and should be attacked at any opportunity.

This post was originally written on November 23rd, 2006. It resulted in my response being printed on the Dartmouth Review website (although I don’t know if it ever made it to print).

Thanks to the heightened awareness of such things by the ever-vigilant and always fair NCAA, it’s easier for the untrained eye to spot hostile abuse such as that perpetuated near this highway which runs through Bismarck. Who would have suspected that right here, under our very noses, such an act of abusive hostility would be committed?

Here’s a closer look at the offending sign. Notice how smugly it portrays the highway number 1804, for the year the hostile and abusive Europeans came through this land on their voyage of destruction, contained within the shape of a Native American wearing a ceremonial headdress. I mean, they might as well have posted a cartoon of Mohammed and a DaVinci Code poster on this sign!

They did, however, put the cherry on top by portraying those hostile, abusive European imperialists on the sign below the 1804. Notice the absence of Sakakawea (or Sacajawea, or Sagagawea, or Sacagawea…heck, they change the pronunciation every time the white people finally learn it) on this sign, despite her important contribution to their journey as a guide.

So, the next time you want to take that scenic jaunt along the river between Bismarck and Washburn, or head down to the sandbox that used to be Beaver Bay before the Army Corps of Engineers laid waste to it, make sure you look away from these hostile, abusive signs along the way. Perhaps we can get the roads banned from the postseason.

If you’re new to the ‘blog, I don’t hold a prejudice against the indigenous peoples of North Dakota, in fact the opposite is very true. I do, however, think the whole UND Fighting Sioux controversy is ridiculous and am merely illustrating what happens when you take their argument to its bitter end. Oh, and the DaVinci Code is blasphemy. But you don’t see Christians out firebombing embassies or anything.

The UND Fighting Sioux nickname appears to be on its way out the door, with a bunch of unelected government bureaucrats voting to change the “hostile” and “abusive” team name of the UND Fighting Sioux to placate a few busybody liberals.

Members of various Sioux tribes have voiced their support for the nickname and logo, with one tribe even putting it to a popular vote in which the logo won. Of course, the liberal activists blamed the victory on “uneducated” Native Americans, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Condescension, anyone? This is what happens when “people of color” don’t understand the do-goodyness of busybody liberals…the way these people are looked down upon by said liberals accidentally sneaks out.

I have even seen a photo on the news from when the school first adopted the Fighting Sioux nickname. Members of the tribe were present, proudly, adorned in ceremonial clothing. It was an honorable event.

While the reservations face epidemic suicide, meth and alcohol abuse, and sexually transmitted disease problems, they instead resort to fighting amongst themselves about a nickname and logo which most like. Besides, I’m willing to bet that most people who don’t like the UND Fighting Sioux nickname and are fighting for its demise have never set foot on a reservation. This is just more Political Correctness run amok. You want a target then, folks? Just let us make a few subtle tweaks to our mascot and then you can let your hatred fly:

This is my (poorly drawn due to haste) rendition of the logo for the UND Valiant White Men. We’re proud of our heritage and our perseverence as we, men and women of German, Norwegian, Slavic, and other descent made a home for ourselves here on the rugged Plains. To show our respect for such a hard-working people, we should honor them by choosing our team name/logo/mascot in their honor. We could even commission an authentic white artist to design the logo; after all, it was a Native American artist who designed the “hostile and abusive” logo used by UND.

Of course, nothing could be more “hostile” and “abusive” to the PC crowd than a white guy. See, for so long it’s only been the Native American crowd, or at least vocal activists fighting in their name, who have been granted the ability to take potshots at the University (which thought it was making a gesture of respect by choosing the name Fighting Sioux). This way, EVERY minority can slap on their Victim uniform, march in unison, and rally against the evil aggressor, the oppressive white heterosexual Christian male. Join the fun, gang! It’s open season!

Personally, I agree with the people interviewed on the evening news a long time ago who said “let’s keep the nickname and the logo, and who cares if we host postseason play.” Tell the NCAA to get bent, kick butt in hockey, and fight for what we believe in.

And while we’re on the subject, maybe you would like to click here and see the DOZENS of programs that “hostile” and “abusive” University offers for Native American students. Recruitment programs. Retention programs. Incentives. Organizations. Publications. I have a friend who’s 100% Native American who went through the INMED program at UND, which helped him tremendously due to his race and afforded him opportunities he’d never have had otherwise. So let’s not make this the case of the Evil Big Bad University vs. the Poor Victimized Native Community.

If the name and logo go, let’s pull the plug on these special favors with it (in the name of equality and race neutrality, of course)! Sure, they do a lot of good and are worthy programs, but we don’t dare put the interests of one race ahead of any others…if that’s what we’re told we’re doing and must stop with the Fighting Sioux nickname, then certainly we can’t do it with something more important like higher education!

Thanks to Claus Lembke for being the sole voice of reason on the Board in this matter. Sadly, nobody else had the sack to stand up and second his motion to reconsider.

Update: Oh yeah…got called a “racist” already before 8am, by somebody IN MINNESOTA! This is NOT about race. It’s about a bunch of “Politically Correct” liberals with an agenda. I’ve got friends and family of a variety of races and I don’t think of them as “this ethnic group or that.” We’re all just people…and yes, we’re all different! That’s what makes it interesting. Didn’t Martin Luther King, Jr. have a dream about a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character? As long as race continues to be an industry, a tool of intimidation by self-proclaimed “compassionate” liberals, Dr. King’s dream is a distant reality…if not altogether fantasy.

You can see a graphic of the bracket results by clicking here.

I guess the fans and readers of Hockey News didn’t get the memos sent out by the politically correct busybodies at the NCAA and various UND campus organizations, eh? By the way, according to this Hockey News fan and reader poll, the Fighting Sioux jersey won by 58% to 42%. That’s a greater margin than the last Presidential election. If Barack Hussein Obama can claim a mandate with 54%, then so can the Fighting Sioux with 58%!

It’s been a long time since I last posted on the subject, so I thought maybe I would go ahead and show some photos of other “hostile and abusive” logos in central North Dakota:

Perhaps you’ve seen one of these lately, hopefully not after a fender-bender from yesterday’s slippery roads. But look closer:

Uh oh. “Hostile and abusive” according to the NCAA! Good thing they can’t threaten our law enforcement like they do our University!

Suppose you want to take a nice drive along the Missouri River on the Bismarck side. You get all loaded up in your Prius with your favorite Garrison Keillor CD and head for the highway, when…*gasp*…you guessed it:

“Hostile and Abusive” Highway. Is there no place for a politically correct self-righteous multiculturalist to flee the evil oppression? Apparently not. Of course, such a malady is self-imposed.

Thankfully there are a lot of hockey fans out there who see through the faux anguish of the politically correct few who wring their hands over the bold Fighting Sioux logo. I am confident that, when put to a vote, this logo will win acceptance with both tribes and we can keep it.

Previous post on this subject, #1: link

Previous post on this subject, #2: link

IN a post earlier this weekend I talked about the notorious shirts being sold at NDSU (not by the college, but by its supporters) and quoted the NCAA’s use of them as an example for going after the Fighting Sioux logo. Well, it didn’t take long before someone sent me a link to examples of shirts being sold in Grand Forks, too.

Having been corrected, I can no longer point the finger at NDSU when it comes to the whole Sioux controversy. It’s unfortunate that there are such idiots on both sides, actually. I’ve previously used the example of people that adorn their car window with a caricature of a kid peeing on various logos. It takes a unique breed of person, not one of admirable qualities.

Don’t get me wrong…I still think that UND should keep their nickname and logo. I think any tribe that calls themselves Sioux has no credibility in telling anyone the name is offensive. I also still stand by the university’s efforts to cater to native American students. Unfortunately, t-shirts like that hurt the credibility of anyone standing up for UND in the logo controversy.

It only takes a few jerks on either side to really aggravate the issue. An outside party looking at the t-shirts in question (too offensive to link to here) would assign UND supporters as much credibility as the tribes who call themselves Sioux but then insist that the term Sioux is hurtful and offensive.

Anyway, back to the photography posts. This isn’t an NDSU or UND blog, so if you want to feed the ol’ rivalry any further…go to the Bisonville site. They appear ready for battle.

GO FIGHTING SIOUX! Yes, that’s right, our beloved UND Fighting Sioux won a hard-fought battle against the University of Minnesota tonight, 3-2 in OT. As I recall, Minnesota is one of those prissy schools who hopped on the PC bandwagon to condemn the name of the North Dakota team, who do nothing but honor Sioux warriors in their use of the Fighting Sioux nickname and the logo which, by the way, was drawn by a Native American artist.

The Frozen Four will take place in St. Louis on April 5th. I wish I could say I’d be there, but sadly I’ll be confined to my couch and satellite dish. In any case, I’ll be cheering wildly for the Fighting Sioux.

Actually, as I remember last year…Buffalo Wild Wings on south 3rd Street was the place to be for Fighting Sioux hockey. I couldn’t find a parking spot within a block, and the place absolutely erupted whenever the Fighting Sioux would score or pull off a good play. It was sweet to see all the UND apparel being proudly displayed and the sense of unity and spirit in the place. Perhaps I’ll be enjoying the games over a hot basket of chicken tenders instead! See you there!

If you’re one of those ridiculous “hostile and abusive” UND-hating types, well, this is your invitation to bring home some Starbuck’s, kick off your Birkenstocks, and watch Dr. Phil. That or just sit around trying to figure out how the rest of the world should live their lives. In the mean time, the rest of us will be enjoying ourselves. I know that must really rub the PC crowd the wrong way, but that’s pretty much liberalism in a nutshell: trying to spread the misery around instead of hogging it all to yourself. Pretty sad, really.

In this excellent and revealing article in the Star tribune, Katherine Kersten points out that most of the people really set against the UND Fighting Sioux nickname are non-Indian liberals, and that the Native Americans most subject to racism are the ones who don’t object to the nickname. It’s worth a read, as one of the best pieces I’ve seen so far on this subject.

One of the points I particularly like is that North Dakota uses a Native American figure on its Highway Patrol vehicles and state highway signs. As previously pointed out by others, including the president of UND himself, that little tidbit first appeared six months ago right here on the Bismarck-Mandan Blog. I’m glad we’re all on the same page here.

Here’s a brief excerpt, although I suggest you read the entire article:

Members of the Standing Rock judicial committee visited UND early in 2006 to assess the situation for themselves. “We spoke to everyone, from students on the street to people at the gas station,” says Fool Bear. “Not one gave us any evidence of racism. We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ”

White Mountain recalls the committee’s meeting with a UND group that opposes the name. “I asked them, ‘What tribe do you belong to?’ ” he says. “Not one was a Sioux Indian.”This group insisted that the name promotes racism on campus,” adds Fool Bear. “I told them, ‘Put any instances of abuse in writing.’ Today, I’m still waiting — I haven’t gotten one complaint.”

If anything is “hostile and abusive” at UND, it’s the way that some activists treat Indian students who take a different view.

“Our young people go there to get an education,” says Fool Bear. “When they arrive, they’re asked, ‘What do you think of the logo?’ If they have no problem with it, they are badgered and harassed for four years.”

Let’s not forget, as this article mentions, that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sent a delegation to UND in 1968 to formally grant the right to the Fighting Sioux nickname. I’ve seen historical photos of this event, even on local TV newscasts. Are the enemies of the nickname now going to ignore that it ever happened?

It would seem that UND has an airtight case from a common sense point of view. Liberalism, however, has forever defied common sense…so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully the “politically correct” movement won’t win the day. They should quit interjecting themselves into situations like this, creating racism where there is none and punishing an institution that has arguably done more for Indian education than any other NCAA organization anywhere.

Huge thanks to my friend Shari G for the tip.

In a recent letter to the NCAA regarding their outrageous decision against the University of North Dakota’s use of the “Fighting Sioux” nickname, President Charles Kupchella writes:

“We are concerned that even if we were to cave in and change our name, you might subsequently hold us hostage until the great State of North Dakota changes all of its state highway signs which now depict a silhouette of an Indian. You might, some say, insist that the Indian logos on the doors of all of our (marked) Highway Patrol cars be removed.”

Right on! I wonder if he got the idea from my posts about the HP cars and highway signs. If so, I’m sincerely flattered. This blog has repeatedly received over 100,000 hits a month…if even one of those helps preserve the UND Fighting Sioux tradition, I am the happiest guy on the block!

One other point that President Kupchella brings up here is that UND does a lot to help out Native American students:

“Although you say you considered all of the material we put into our appeal, your responses and actions indicate otherwise. I point out, again, some of the extraordinary programming we have in support of American Indian students.

American Indian education is a $12 million enterprise at UND. Much of the total is provided by the tribes themselves, by the students and their families, and by the federal government. None of this would happen, obviously, if the environment here were in any way hostile and abusive. There is also a substantial University component as well. The University annually provides about $400,000, mostly in the form of waivers of tuition specifically for underrepresented groups. Nearly all of this goes to American Indians.

We have more than 30 separate programs in support of American Indian education. Most of these are administered by a staff of seven American Indians. Most of the programs are based in a new American Indian Center funded by the University and by generous donors. These programs include a thirty-year-old Indians-Into-Medicine program which has educated about one-fifth of all (enrolled) American Indian physicians in the United States. Your action has, unfortunately, put all of this under a cloud of “hostile and abusive.” We must find some way to set the record straight.”

Amen to that! I’m glad he took the opportunity to point that out, as I mentioned in
a previous post concerning the logo an UND’s programs for Native American students.

You can read the full text of President Kupchella’s open letter to the NCAA by clicking here. Well said, sir! Let’s hope that logic and prudence win the day in your struggle to keep the nickname.