The Untimely Demise of Chief Illiniwek

Everyone,

  February 21 saw the final performance of the mascot of the Fighting Illini.

Watch Chief Illiniwek's Last Dance

The Chief Danced for the Last Time at Assembly Hall Tonight at Michigan Game

Feb. 21, 2007

Champaign, Ill. - An 80-year tradition came to a close at Illinois when Chief Illiniwek danced his last dance against Michigan on February 21, 2007.

http://fightingillini.cstv.com/genrel/022107aaa.html

  On February 22, a sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, David Whitley, reported on the untimely demise of Chief Illiniwek.  Having followed the sports section in the O-Sent for several years, this was the first instance of one of their sports reporters being pro-Native on this issue.  I had to write a note of thanks to Whitley.  To my surprise, I was contacted by the O-Sent and asked if my personal note to Whitley could be used in the 'Sports Mailbag' in the following Sunday's paper.  Below is Whitley's article of Feb 22 and my note of thanks, which was published on Feb 25.

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David Whitley – Sports writer, Orlando Sentinel

Chief Illiniwek's native dance offended many

Published February 22, 2007

Chief Illiniwek had his last dance Wednesday night. I never thought I'd say this, but it was time to put away the war paint and say goodbye.

I never thought I'd say that because I didn't see why Native Americans got so upset about the whole mascot thing. Chief Illiniwek has been around 81 tradition-soaked years and never scalped a soul.

But Illinois caved in to the jackboots at the NCAA, which decreed Chief Illiniwek "hostile and abusive."

The whole thing is hostile and abusive, all right. Hostile and abusive to common sense.

At least that's what I used to think. Now I'm thinking I was wrong.

My views were based partly on an aversion to political correctness and largely on emotion. I was attached emotionally to Chief Osceola.

His performance before Florida State games is one of college football's great scenes. I've known people who put on the show and many more who cheer when the flaming spear is planted at the 50-yard line.

They are not intolerant, much less racist. It bothered me when critics accused them of both.

FSU has taken great pains to be culturally sensitive with its mascot and nickname. And as fans are always quick to point out, the school has the blessing of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

That's what cleared FSU during the crackdown of 2005. Well, that and the fact every Tallahasseean from Jeb Bush to the janitor at Seminole Auto Supply threatened to nuke NCAA headquarters.

Offending schools were barred from hosting postseason athletic events.

An Illinois student has dressed in buckskin and a headdress since 1926, and the vast majority of fans didn't want the show to end.

Unlike FSU, the Illini couldn't get a hall pass from any tribe. After a big stink, Wednesday's game against Michigan was it for Chief Illiniwek.

Watching from a distance offered a different view of the debate. I'm still about as politically correct as a lawn jockey, but it's hard to see much difference between a kid in Illinois running around dressed like a Native American and a kid in Florida running around dressed like a Native American.

Every school says it is only trying to honor the fighting spirit of Native Americans. That's undoubtedly true, but what if they don't feel honored?

Can you see why some might be put off by thousands of white people doing the tomahawk chop and yelling, "Scalp 'em!" when their team is trying to win a game? And just because Seminole tribal leaders say it's OK, should it make it OK with every Native American?

Imagine if a school somehow got the blessing of the Mandinka tribe to change its mascot to a historically accurate spear-carrying warrior. Would all Africans be expected to give up the right to be offended?

And yes, these days, somebody always will be offended by something. This is where I used to think that if Native American names must go, we must be sensitive to all poor souls who might be bothered.

That argument always is taken to the illogical extremes. As if UC Santa Cruz should change its name because it offends Banana Slugs. If you can't tell the difference between a Banana Slug and a Native American, you need a course in U.S. history before continuing this discussion. Not that I expect it to go anywhere.

As far as FSU is concerned, the issue is settled. The Seminoles are attached to their name, and I still understand why.

It's just that now I see why some Native Americans never will understand.

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Mr. Whitley,

  Thanks for helping to put a crack in the glacier that is predominant attitude towards
racism in sports and media.
  You touched on several issues in your column this morning and it touches on what I believe
are the two main issues in this fight.
  One, the melting pot, the turning 'vanilla' of mainstream culture in the U.S. is damaging
if you're not sensitive to the issues of people of color.  How do Natives get the word out?
That's the hard part.
  I've argued for many years that for what it's worth, we need a Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton type
person to rush to the scene and shout like a Baptist minister how we've been wronged, all the
while demanding we be made whole.
  Instead, Native attitudes towards the [white] majority are the same now as they were 81 years
ago.  We don't want anything to do with you, leave us alone.  We take care of our own.
  Unfortunately, that predominant attitude in the Native community led to our culture being
highjacked/co-opted from us without our consent. Nobody ever asked us how we wanted to be
portrayed and admittedly, the winners write the history books.
  Now that the Natives are getting around to demanding that our culture be returned to us
and respected as any other, the majority is asking, "Where the hell did that come from?"
  That second issue of having our culture taken from us is something that other cultures
have had much more success in dealing with.
  The biggest example of this, (and a quick nod to your lawn jockey), are black baseball
teams.  They used to exist but don't anymore.  Why?  Because it just ain't right.
  Why didn't team names like the Black Crackers or the Black Barons survive?  Somebody demaned
their culture back and the majority said, "okay."
  Some tradition soaked things have got to come to an end.  Especially when you see
traditions that seem to be soaked in your blood turned into public spectacle.

Daryll Davis
Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation