The University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux has entered the name-change fracas that beset the NCAA a few years ago, although under bizarre circumstances.  In what appears to be a twist of priorities, it is some members of a Sioux tribe who want to keep the name while the University wants it changed.

You may remember a segment of our Washington Redskins post (“What’s in a Name?”) which mentioned the NCAA’s attempt to ban all potentially “threatening” or “abusive” mascots/logos from college programs.  There were around 20 allegations, and all but this one has been resolved.  According to the New York Times, the debate has divided a campus of over 13,000 in recent weeks and has caused a discord amongst members of the Sioux.  It doesn’t help that two separate tribes make up the Sioux, members of each go to the University, and that members of the University are comprised of members who hold different opinions on the matter.  The lack of cohesion is staggering.  Here’s a list of some of the key players and the elements of their opinions.

1.  The Spirit Lake Tribe is one of two tribes which comprise the Sioux nation.  Eight of their members have filed an injunction against UND to keep the logo.

2.  Frank Black Cloud, a Spirit Lake member, seems to enjoy the attention.  His argument is that the Sioux would be one step closer to obscurity without University representation.

3.  Standing Rock, the other Sioux tribe, has held grievances towards the logo in the past.  But their new chief is much more ambiguous in the matter, calling only for more talks.

4.  The University of North Dakota seems to be taking the side of 400 Native students on its campus, who mostly oppose the logo.  Even though most of those students are not Sioux, the American Indian groups on campus claim the logo harms enough Natives at large to warrant a change.

I suppose the main question is this – who owns the logo?  To me (and I’m grossly uneducated in my knowledge of Native American tribes) the logo itself could be the profile of any Native American, and indeed looks indistinguishable from the likes of a Washington Redskin or a Chicago Blackhawk.  If the namesake “Sioux” is at issue, and most of the tribe themselves want things to stay the way they are, then what’s the big deal?  Should a group of students be awarded such a stake in the final say of how a tribe continues its legacy?

Posted by Tyler on December 18, 2009 at 10:00 am.