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THE DEMISE OF THE FIGHTING SIOUX.....
That's what I feel is going to happen now that the Fighting Sioux no longer lives on the campus of the University of North Dakota, nor in the cellar of whatever conference UND plays in. I'm going to miss the Fighting Sioux, and Indian newspapers are going to find much empty space, especially on their op-ed pages. Now comes the interesting process of selecting a new name and mascot for the University. I had suggested before that Mad Russians or Bouncing Czechs might be more representative of the demographics of the state, or perhaps the Terrible Swedes. North Dakota State already has the mascot and name Bison, which someone has already charged was exploitation of an icon sacred to most Plains tribes, and suggested should be the cause of the next PC war. Someone from Rosebud suggested a long time ago that UND just adopt the name Fighting Little Snakes. The word Sioux is derived from the Chippewa word Nadoweesiou, which means lesser adder, or little snake. The name Fighting Little Snakes would be at least a symbolic victory for the Fighting Sioux diehards. But while they're sulking and grumbling about us pesky savages, let's give them some assistance. Let's help them find another name. High schools are a source of some clever names, my favorite being the team of the little Montana town of Belfry. You guessed it, they're the Bats. And Papillion High School here in Nebraska was very clever in selecting the name Monarchs. The word papillion is French for butterfly, but let's face it, a team averaging 300 lbs on the offensive line should not be called the Butterflies. However, the suburban Omaha's Benson High has taken the name Bunnies, and regularly turns out monster material for the Nebraska Huskers football team. And the University of Nebraska itself went by the name of Bug-eaters for years before they adopted the more mundane moniker, Cornhuskers. Most fans out here have shucked the word corn off the name and just call them Huskers, which sounds less rural and more virile. When they start winning again, they'll again be the Big Red. In the NFL, I think Washington could take a lesson from Baltimore, whose mascot ought to get some prize for originality and imagination, let alone their literary pride. Their team name, Ravens, is derived from the bird in the poem by the city's favorite son, Edgar Allen Poe. But those damn Redskins in Washington just keep flipping us the bird and paying off judges to keep their ugly and hateful name. Back to the University of North Dakota: I have never felt offended by their name Fighting Sioux. And I think there are many Lakotas, Dakotas and Nakotas, both on the UND campus and elsewhere, who feel as I do about it. It is an apt name, and if you want proof just go to a Council meeting on any reservation in North or South Dakota. It anything, the name is a redundancy. I think UND betrayed the title, for if they were really like the Fighting Sioux, they would still be sporting the name. The process of finally consulting the tribes, and even bringing the issue to a vote on the reservations was the right thing to do, and would have proven most interesting. And a good negotiator on the tribes' side could have gained much in scholarships and programs for Native students as a trade-off for using the name. The close-order shrill teams put up such a ruckus and work to get other young people -- who are too busy being students to notice -- properly sensitized and resentful. These young folks and their aging mentors are disappearing Native America off the map faster than the US Government ever could with their warfare, boarding schools, missionaries, and relocation programs. Oh well, what is past is past. But, I still would like to hear from readers with suggestions for a new name for the North Dakota folk up at their University. Think about it: What is North Dakota noted for? With the flattest topography on the continent, it is the wind, of course. How about the name "Blowing Wind?" Or perhaps "Breaking Wind?" The natural motto would be "Wind Power," which is so "in" these days. With that image and perhaps a million-dollar honorarium, they might even get Father Nature Al Gore to give a commencement address. Send me your suggestions for names for good old UND. Send them to me at Cchuktrim@aol.com or the Blog on my website: iktomisweb.com.
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Jim Thorpe was unanimously elected the first president of the NFL in 1920 and "helped establish the Oorang Indians, the world's first all-Indian pro football team." The name wasn't even from any Indian dialect, it just sounded Indian, but the team was one of the greatest football teams of all time.
"Each football game was an all-Indian showcase. After Coach Thorpe's pregame pep talk, the Oorangs roared onto the field, war bonnets and buckskins concealing their football uniforms. At halftime, the Oorang players pulled on their Indian garb to stage their halftime spectacle."
In David Hurst Thomas' "Skull Wars", forwarded by Vine Deloria Jr., he closes this chapter as follows:
"One chairman of the Hopi tribe took still another view. Emphasizing the degree to which treaty-guaranteed rights to lands and services were grounded in the stereotypes of the period in which the treaties were signed, he argued that these images -misleading as they were- must be preserved to convince Congress to ensure those rights not protected directly by the Constitution. Should Indians become indistinguishable from whites, Congress might begin to assume that assimilation was complete, and step away from defending the treaty guaranteed rights. "Is [our sovereignty recognized] simply because we look like Indians, we speak our language, we live like Indians?" he asked. "Once that's all gone, we are part of the mainstream society."
Consider the first steps of Jim Thorpe. It was an all-American-Indian National Football team that began many of these traditions. Race based teams aren't in the NFL anymore, and good riddance perhaps, but we should consider our own legacy as Indians (even though every man has his own vision- it should be respected for what it was).
I always took pride in the Fighting Sioux, despite the inappropriate use of the term Sioux, because I was the only kid in my school in Minneapolis in my grade with an Indian (Lakota) background and that was "my team", like some Scandinavians, like me too, took pride in the Minnesota Vikings.
That's my two cents. Just acknowledging those who have come before us, but I am still young and don't claim to know it all. I know who Jim Thorpe was however, and I respect him as an American Indian hero.