Fight on, Sioux ... Nations!

As a resident of North Dakota, I hear about the constant tribulations of the "Fighting Sioux fiasco" on a daily basis. The newspaper, the radio, and the Internet all service me with up-to-date news on what's going on and who's saying what.

I've noticed that many that support UND, in one way or another, say "Well if it were me, I would be honored to have a college logo named after me."

I've also noticed that these same people are all white, people who have never had to face discrimintation based on the color of their skin or their culture in their lives. If these same people are so desperate to have a college logo named in their "honor", then I would suggest that UND change their name from "Fighting Sioux" to "Fighting Honkies" (or something along those lines). Then, we will wait to see if these same people feel any honor bestowed upon them.

UND supporters also argue that the offended tribal nations should have more important issues to take care of. I feel that this IS an important issue. Trying to regain dignity and self-respect of a racial group that has endured hundreds of years of pain, abuse, and torture is imporant. With these issues resolved, many of Indian Country's other problems, such as low self-esteem related depression, would slowly vanish over time.

Using a logo that defies a definition, and instead feeds into a generalization of an entire race can be damaging. Many Native Americans have enough self-esteem issues already, what with the United States' historical attempt at assimiliation (i.e. reservations, residential schools, etc.). Native Americans were raped of their language, culture and general self. They were led to believe that they were "savages", whose life mission was to scalp as many "pale faces" as possible. They were told that they were nothing.

Many ask how "Fighting Sioux" could be considered offensive. First, take the nickname and divide it; thus you will have "fighting" and "Sioux". The word 'fighting' can be considered synonymous with violence, and 'Sioux' can be generalized to 'Indians'; thus, the nickname is basically "those Violent Indians".

As a cousin of mine, a student at UND, told me a while back: "UND appears to be losing its fight with the NCAA and the Natives in this town (Grand Forks) are feeling the backlash." Indeed. He also relayed a story of how his sister-in-law's friend, a UND student and Cheyenne River Sioux, was harassed while walking back to his dorm. "Prairie N*****! Prairie N***** can't play basketball, they should go back to the rez' where they belong."

Wow. And this all happened at a college where the Native American is honored?

To UND, I offer this advice: Give up the name; you've had your glory with it. Changing the name would not affect the student's academic progress, so it should not be a priority. After all, isn't education what college is all about? Instead, focus more time, energy, and money on issues that matter, like education!

And, it wouldn't hurt to add racial sensitivity courses into the curriculum, too.