Just replace him with the Indian from The Village People.
Posted on 02/16/2007 8:25:01 AM PST by IL Republican
To members of the campus community,
A decision has been made regarding the Chief Illiniwek tradition. For more
information, go to: www.uillinois.edu/chief
If you receive any questions or concerns regarding the decision, please
feel free to use the following reply.
"Thank you for your comments about the recently announced decision on Chief
Illiniwek. For more information, please refer to this web page:
www.uillinois.edu/chief
You can email comments by clicking on Contact/Feedback link
[InfoSource@uillinois.edu] in the top section of the web page."
I stand corrected, the dance was "based off of" the Native American Fancy Dance. I am not familiar with it, so I have no idea how close it is.
However...
On September 25, 1982, Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow traveled to the University of Illinois with fellow Sioux elders Anthony Whirlwind Horse and Joe American Horse. During a halftime ceremony at Memorial Stadium, Fools Crow presented the University with the regalia currently worn by Chief Illiniwek.
The nephew of Black Elk, Fools Crow is considered by many to be the greatest Native American spiritual leader of the past century.
The regalia that Fools Crow presented was his own personal regalia, hand-crafted by his wife Katie. It is said that Fools Crow was very proud to make this presentation to the University as his work would be seen by so many people.
Fools Crow passed away in 1989.
I forgot to source my info:
http://www.chiefilliniwek.org/
Also check out www.studentsforchief.com
Now you're hittin' close to home...as I've lived in N.Va. and been a Skins fan for years.
Regardless...that documentary about Charlene Teters and her struggle to deal with the fanatical following of the "Chief" at U.of Illinois was a real eye-opener for me.
At first I thought she was being an over-sensitive publicity seeker..but being of genuine Spokane tribe linneage and seeing the symbols of her culture and religion being stereotyped and altered for the purpose of entertainment by a predominantly white audience..I began to see her point.
I tried to turn the tables to see if I could get a better grasp...what if a Black school had a Jewish rabbi as its
mascot? What if a school with a team named the "Smokin'Popes" had a guy in robes and a tall hat dancing around on the field swinging incense?
Is the name "Fightin'Irish" offensive to the non-alcohol imbibing pacifist Irish?
I don't care if the person dressing up as an indian is one or isn't one, is a he or she. I would stop my endorsement to my alma mater if they rolled over and surrendered to the local PC police and changed their mascot, yes.
Who does the NCAA answer to? Who appointed Myles?
I'm not really sure, it appears to be sort of like a political party where the head is selected by a committee.
I do know they make money bigtime from college athletics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ncaa
My Dad, who passed away last year, was an Eagle Scout of the same Troop as the first 3 Chiefs, remaining close over the years. Of the 3, Bill Newton (Chief Illiniwek III) survives and is in good spirits last I heard. I was blessed to know and hear about these guys over the years, great models in Scouting. The last thing, ever, on their minds was to disparage or ridicule the heritage of Native Americans, in fact meant their efforts to be a tribute. Such were those days.
Q What will happen with the University’s trademark rights to the name Chief Illiniwek, the portrayal of the Chief and the Chief Illiniwek logo? A The University is reviewing trademark laws. No final decision has been made.
I am a trademark attorney. Normally one cannot use a trademark of another, even after the use stops due to residual goodwill attached to the mark. However, another can start using a mark immediately if the mark is abandoned. The University is clearly and unequivalently abandoning the mark from their statements. (see prior FAQs.) I suggest someone start using Chief Illiniwek immediately after February 21. The first to make trademark usage after it is abandoned should (normally) be entitled to the mark. They will then make a mint from sales to alumni. (I suspect, however, the university's commitment to their position will be abandoned privately when the question of money arises.)
Just replace him with the Indian from The Village People.
The woman who started the campaign is from the Spokane tribe (2000 members) of Washington State, from thousands of miles away. If one of her ancestors had encountered a member of the Illini confederacy 500 years ago, he or she probably would have been either killed or enslaved. (I think the Illini had a reputation for slave-trading.)
No fool like an old fool. Apparently that Indian(FoolsCrow) wasn't offended. I guess we need to quit watching all the old movies that non Indians played the part of Indians. Maybe we should just quit watching movies because very few of the actors are the real person that the story is about.
Yep, calling your opponents racist is a great way to go.. Frankly, the anti-Chief people were (and probably still are) a bunch of militant upper middle class (mostly white) snots who like making the lives of other students miserable. I got called a "racist" at the pamphletes they were handing out... They also liked crashing football games and having sit-ins in administration buildings.
TAMU Class of '88 here... I see that Bevo has made an appearance on Freerepublic... time to fire up the grill to cook up some Bevo burgers :-)
At least we do something useful with our mascots when they're "done"! None of this silly grass-and-canine worship! LOL! ;-)
Don't try to insult us t-sippers by talking about bevo-burgers....the only thing that bothers us about that is that Bevo usually lives so damn long, its a helluva tuff burger!
Seriously,though. Until recently throughout Texas---and may I seriously and specifically say----until the leftist californians had started infiltrating ATM etc (previously known for its "A" and its "M", but more recently known for its growing "t-sippiness"), nobody had the slightest problem with slaughtering a bovine beaut and firing up the bbq. That's what cattle were invented for! Viva barbacoa!
The best way to get back at the University of Illinois Trustees and the NCAA is to do the following
1. Go to the Sunday and Wednesday games and don't cheer except when the chief is on the floor. After the chief does his performance walk out in mass and the concessions will suffer this year. Wear bandanas with Epley, NCAA, or Chief like Jim McMahon did to Pete Rozelle. Everyone who hast tickets to the next two games take a videocamera for the performance.
2. Don't buy tickets to the Big 10 tournament or the NCAA or NIT tournament should the U of I make the tournament.
3. If you are or have friends who are season ticket holders for football or basketball ask them to cancel their orders for next season.
4. If you are an alumnis or know alumni that donate to the school tell the U of I the next time they ask for donations to take you off their list for fundraisers.
5. If you have kids or friends who have kids that are students there pull them out or look to other schools. Especially if they are good athletes, losing a few high profile recruits will hurt the school. Losing tuition dollars will hurt the school.
6. Call your state Reps and Senators to back Rep Chapin Rose from Mahomet bill to tax the NCAA. This will affect events the NCAA wants to hold around Chicago.
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