Dr.
Bernard Franklin (Executive Vice President)
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
700 W. Washington Street
P.O. Box 6222
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6222
April 11, 2011
Dear Dr. Franklin:
I am writing this letter on behalf of the 330+ Spirit Lake Oyate tribal members who voted against our tribe endorsing the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo when the issue was put before the tribe as a reservation-wide referendum. Although we lost the referendum, we are hoping to overturn it. Let me add if another referendum were held today, I believe the results would be much closer, maybe even concluding in our favor.
Because our tribe does allow referendums, we have since collected 330 signatures - far more than is needed to force another election on the issue. However, this course of action is something we hope we don't have to pursue due to the dissention throughout the community another referendum will likely cause, as well as the expense it would incur on our already stretched tribal budget.
I earned and received three degrees from UND over the course of 20 years. During this time, I participated in many, many discussions with non-Indians concerning the logo. All the discussions were of a negative nature. The logo supporters did not bother to hide their dislike and contempt for me because I spoke out against the logo. They would commonly respond that I receive monthly checks from the government, that my education was free, and that I was blaming them for what their ancestors did. When this discussion took place in the classroom, it was usually at the beginning of the semester. As for the discussion outside of the classroom, when I failed to agree with pro-nickname/logo supporters' reasons for why they believed the logo was respectful toward Indians, I had to endure many forms of disrespect from my fellow students. This disrespect was demonstrated via innuendos, for example, when assignments required students to work in groups, no one wanted to partner with me when the situation called for it. Further, when placed in a group, I was ignored by my classmates when trying to contribute and participate. So I would respond with anger and contempt toward them. They soon learned to leave me alone - until the next semester and I would have to go through the whole thing again.
I witnessed and I was on the receiving end of many acts of disrespect toward Indians that were hidden or disguised through the use of the logo when I was at UND. (1) A lot of it was sneaky and underhanded. Most commonly, logo supporters would belittle Indians and reservations when I (we) was (were) in the vicinity. (2) As a result of a previously broken back, I walk with a severe limp. On one occasion while I was a student, I had parked my car at the administration building. My car had a handicap permit clearly displayed; however, when I came out, there was a parking violation/ticket on my windshield for illegally parking in a handicap spot. No big deal - right? When I took the ticket to the UND Parking Office, the employee who talked with me saw me walk in. Amazingly, after observing me walk and looking at my handicap permit, she still refused to remove the citation. However, I was just as stubborn. After about 10 minutes of discussion, she finally confessed that she had received a call from three young men who had observed me get out of my vehicle and run into the building. "Lady, I haven't run in close to 10 years," I told her. Eventually, but reluctantly, she realized she was wrong and removed the citation but I reported her anyway. I received a long, two-page letter of apology from the director of the Parking Office. But the damage was done. I was mistreated, disrespected, not trusted, and humiliated all because of a logo. It's also worth noting that the UND Parking Office has numerous Fighting Sioux logos/signage displayed, a strong indication of the office-wide support for a nickname and logo that is offensive to many, certainly me.
I persevered. I was not going to let the hard-core logo supporters run me out of UND. However, I saw many other Indian students who could not stand up to the enormous negative pressure created by the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. They quit and went back to whatever reservation they were from. Every time an Indian student would quit because of the emotionally controversial logo, I would become angrier, which made me more determined than ever to fight against the nickname and logo.
Many tribal members who are pro-logo supporters have never stepped one foot in a UND classroom, they have never had to put up with racism spawned by the logo day in and day out, and they have not been ignored by fellow classmates when trying to work with them as a group like I have. Yet, they proclaim to be experts on how the logo honors us. On the other hand, there are about 20 UND graduates who are from Spirit Lake and at least 90% are against the logo due to how they were treated while at UND.
The racism spawned by the logo continues to affect me to this day. I play pool in GF every Friday night and often stop at the restaurant located on the outskirts of Grand Forks when finished playing pool. I remember vividly the first time I stopped there during a home hockey game. When I walked in, almost every eye turned to look at me. Most of the people were wearing Fighting Sioux garb of some kind. The hate I felt in their gaze was palpable. Man, I thought as I shook my head, these people are all wearing Fighting Sioux garb - yet when they see a real "Sioux" Indian, they have nothing to say; they only have hate toward him (me). I went in and sat down anyway. No one person in the room smiled or said "hi" to me. Instead, they acted as if I had no right to be there with them on their Fighting Sioux night.
Please do not change your position on the use of Native American imagery in the NCAA.
Sincerely,
Erich Longie, Ed.D
President Spirit Lake Consulting
