Other schools face problems regarding nicknames and mascots

By Adam Fenwick
News Editor

UNCP is not the only school being faced with problems regarding its school’s logo or mascot, as at least 30 other schools are facing similar problems. The most prominent of these would be the University of Illinois who just recently had a lawsuit filed against them by the Illinois Native American Bar Association (INABA). The INABA is alleging that the school’s mascot, Chief Illiniwek, violates the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003.

In August 2004 the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) reported that the controversy surrounding Chief Illiniwek was affecting the school’s academic mission, and would continue to do so until the issue was resolved, according to a story written by Dan Farnham of the Daily Illini, the University of Illinois’s school newspaper. The chief has been the school’s mascot since 1926, where each year a student wears featherhead regalia and other Native American clothes and performs at football and basketball games.

A group supporting Chief Illiniwek, called Students for Chief Illiniwek, helped create an online petition to save the chief. The petition has received over 17,000 signatures so far. Kimberly Lyen, a member of Students for Chief Illiniwek, was one of the first to sign the online petition.

“He is an honorable symbol to the University, he is an honored tradition and he means a lot to the students,” said Lyen in a KRT Campus newswire report.

The University of North Dakota (UND) also faces some of the same issues that the University of Illinois continues to face. The school has received complaints about their nickname the Fighting Sioux and their logo which features a Sioux chief. However, UND Media Relations Coordinator Peter Johnson said in a KRT Campus report that the State Board of Higher Education voted in December 2001 to keep the name and logo, and the school has no say in that decision.

In 1998 former UND President Ken Baker was considering changing the school’s nickname when, according to Veron Bellecourt, president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media, the effort was dealt a serious blow. A wealthy alumnus named Ralph Engelstad learned of the idea and told the school that if they did not keep the nickname, he would withdraw a $100 million donation to help the school build a state-of-the-art hockey facility.

“(Engelstad) wrote a letter to the president, who was at the time still considering the change,” Johnson said. “He said if you change the name, he would quit building the facility.” Three days later, Baker decided to keep the nickname.

At Florida State University the school has developed a strong relationship with the local Indian community. The school meets regularly with the local Seminole Tribe, which the school’s sports teams are named after. Fifteen years ago when the school decided to adopt the Seminole logo, nickname, and mascot they met with the local tribe to be sure to honor them rather than offend them. The two sides discussed what the rider should wear, what the horse should look like, and who should ride it.

The horse and rider are used for on field festivities only. Never has the horse and rider appeared in commercials or on merchandise.

One school that has already changed their name and logo in order to try and appease local tribal members is Miami of Ohio who changed their nickname from the Redskins to the RedHawks. The school changed the nickname following a request by the Miami tribe of Oklahoma who asked officials to consider changing the name.

“It became an uncomfortable situation for the tribe,” said Richard Little, senior director of university communications. “It was a distraction (on campus). It becomes something that diverts time and resources away from much more important issues,” Little said in a KRT Campus report.