In 1876, Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota), along with many other bands of the Great Sioux Nation and their Cheyenne Indian allies, defeated Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Many descendents of Sitting Bull and the Sioux bands who fought at the Little Bighorn still live on the Standing Rock Reservation. Now they are finding themselves in a fight to protect and defend their culture - only this time the battle is being played out on the reservations, the State Board of Higher Education, and the state court.
Just as their ancestors before them won a great victory at the Battle of The Little Big Horn, the Standing Rock tribal members opposed to the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo used by the University of North Dakota have been victorious. In spite of overwhelming odds, these men and women have stood fast and stopped an outside organization from overthrowing the Standing Rock Tribal Constitution and replacing it with one more favorable to their interests.
These courageous efforts have brought the movement to have the Standing Rock Nation endorse the Fighting Sioux nickname to a standstill. Motivated by pride in their heritage, people spent their own money and went door-to-door in almost every community on the reservation to explain to their neighbors why use of the Fighting Sioux logo and nickname should cease. They argued that this commercial caricature of our culture is hostile and abusive to Indian students at the University of North Dakota and Indian people in general. The majority of these tribal members, after listening and reading the documentation they were presented with, apparently agreed. Had they felt otherwise, Standing Rock's tribal constitution would have been changed to accommodate outside interests.
Following their victory at the Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull and his people eventually surrendered and were forced to live on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. However, Sitting Bull did not lose any of his influence with his people as the non-Indians had hoped he would. Instead, he fought to preserve his way of life, which endeared him to many of his people. His continued influence frightened the non-Indians in charge of the reservation and their attempts to silence him and discredit him eventually caused his death, a death that came not at the hands of a white man, but by his own people.
Similarly, the greatest enemy of tribal members who oppose the nickname has turned out to be some of their own people. Non-Indians supplied tribal police who were responsible for Sitting Bull's death with guns and ammunition. Today, the Ralph Engelstad Foundation supports tribal members who are in favor of the Sioux nickname and logo.
Sadly, in spite of this recent victory, the fight over the Fighting Sioux logo is far from over. Tribal members have chosen to collaborate with their non-Indian handlers in their misguided attempts to keep the disgraceful image and have went as far as to misinterpret the Standing Rock Tribal Constitution - giving more power to the state of North Dakota in tribal affairs. And, I truly believe such efforts are misguided. Only a non-Indian would truly believe that retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo would, as supporters maintain, "cause isolation and a diminishing of public interest, knowledge and respect for Sioux history and culture and will be detrimental and not in the best interest of their [Sioux] people." The rest of us Sioux - us freedom-loving, equality-seeking, high-self-esteem, fried-bread-eating, commodity cheese-loving Indians - know we do not need to depend on a controversial, racist nickname and logo to survive.
Our future is not dependent on such frivolity. We are among the most well known of all tribal nations. Books are written about us, movies are made about us, people from all nationalities embrace our culture. We are one of the fastest growing populations in the country. If anything, the nickname hurts our perception of the world. In fact, arguably the most recognized North Dakotan, Phil Jackson, has spoken out against the name.
If retained, the nickname will continue to pit tribal members against tribal members, North Dakotans against North Dakotans, and North Dakotans against Native Americans. How can a positive state and tribal relationship flourish under such a hostile and abusive environment?
