Thats no good. We need to do something to help show them we can keep the name.
Tribe votes to reject UNDnickname
LOADING
*
Nov 15, 2007 - 05:39:40 CST
By TONY SPILDE/Bismarck Tribune
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has three years to decide where it stands on the issue of the Fighting Sioux nickname.
But it didn't even take three weeks for tribal officials to firmly state their position.
The tribal council on Friday voted 8-1 to reaffirm its opposition to the University of North Dakota's nickname and logo.
A settlement between the school and the NCAA on Oct. 26 granted UNDthree years to lobby for support among the state's Sioux Indian community - namely, the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes.
The Spirit Lake council hasn't taken action on the issue, tribal secretary-treasurer Brian Pearson said this week.
Ron His Horse Is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, was unavailable for comment Wednesday. But when the state Board of Higher Education approved the settlement last month, His Horse Is Thunder said he thought UND officials should use the three years to plan for changing the nickname and dropping the logo, rather than attempting to persuade the tribes to change their minds. Officials on Standing Rock appeared to back up that statement by acting quickly to restate their distaste for the nickname.
However, two members chose not to vote on Friday, and six others were absent, council member David Bird said. UNDstill has until 2010 to coax a different decision from the tribe.
UND spokesman Peter Johnson said he hadn't seen the resolution, and wouldn't comment on the vote without reviewing it.
"We're looking forward to having conversations with both the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe,"Johnson said. "Ipersonally hope there will be some very positive results - mutually beneficial results - regardless of what happens."
In 2005, the NCAAbanned the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname in postseason play, saying it was hostile and abusive. The school twice appealed the decision - losing both times - before challenging the ruling in a lawsuit against the association last year. The settlement put the decision in the hands of the Sioux tribes.
Should the tribes demand a change, UND would have to remove most of the Indian imagery from its Grand Forks campus. It could keep historical items and items embedded in the architecture.
(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)