Last week I made a trip up to North Dakota for work. It was a lovely drive across most of the state. Being a good tourist I made an effort to check the pulse of the locals. I am sorry to report that I didn't meet any big sports fans or hockey fans. So I did not receive any strong comments regarding the UND nickname.
I did see a news report on local TV about the big increase in sales at the UND gift shop. They said any clothing with the Fighting Sioux name or logo was going fast. There were interviewing people in the store and some had driven hundreds of miles to go buy a sweatshirt.
What I was able to get from this story was people are expecting the name to change and be gone forever, except on the clothing they purchase. Also, the Internet must still be new to some people as they could have just logged on to http://www.dakotatextbookco.com/ and purchased their sweatshirt and had it sent to them. My guess is those people will never read this blog.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Goodbye Sioux, Hello Flickertails?
It is done, at least for now. As of yesterday, the State Board of Higher Education of North Dakota decided that the University of North Dakota must retire their Fighting Sioux name and Native American profile symbol by October 1 of this year. UND’s chances are not completely gone, but they are not very good at all. To keep the name and symbol, the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Dakota tribes must vote allowing the university to continue to use the monikers. Given the time frame and the opposition of the Standing Rock tribe, chances are slim. See the article in the Grand Forks Herald.
So why the consternation? I think that the “fighting” part of the name is not defensible at all. But what is wrong with Sioux? Please keep in mind that I am asking questions and playing “Devil’s Advocate” here. City of Sioux Falls, Big Sioux River, and Sioux Steam Cleaner Corp. and the list goes on and on of the use of Sioux. Maybe this is the first domino to fall, but who will make the next domino fall as the NCAA has no standing in their names.
Let’s move on…who will the Bulldogs be playing this next season? While trying to get permission to keep their nickname, they will likely be looking for a new one. Maybe they should just go with the previous name (pre 1930), the Flickertails. Sounds good to me, but I really don’t have a large stake in this whole thing. Comment below with your ideas! Until then, the Fighting Sioux will have to ride off into the sunset and wonder why the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Utah Utes can continue playing under NCAA rules with their names. Did all of Ireland and Irish Americans vote on Fighting Irish?
Who is on the high road here? The NCAA certainly seems to be picking who to target and who not to, but as said earlier, Fighting Sioux is over the top. We will just have to wait to see.
So why the consternation? I think that the “fighting” part of the name is not defensible at all. But what is wrong with Sioux? Please keep in mind that I am asking questions and playing “Devil’s Advocate” here. City of Sioux Falls, Big Sioux River, and Sioux Steam Cleaner Corp. and the list goes on and on of the use of Sioux. Maybe this is the first domino to fall, but who will make the next domino fall as the NCAA has no standing in their names.
Let’s move on…who will the Bulldogs be playing this next season? While trying to get permission to keep their nickname, they will likely be looking for a new one. Maybe they should just go with the previous name (pre 1930), the Flickertails. Sounds good to me, but I really don’t have a large stake in this whole thing. Comment below with your ideas! Until then, the Fighting Sioux will have to ride off into the sunset and wonder why the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Utah Utes can continue playing under NCAA rules with their names. Did all of Ireland and Irish Americans vote on Fighting Irish?
Who is on the high road here? The NCAA certainly seems to be picking who to target and who not to, but as said earlier, Fighting Sioux is over the top. We will just have to wait to see.
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