I love the UND's new logo. As soon as tee shirts
with the new logo are available I will go and buy several, for myself and for
my grandchildren. They will be perfect
to wear should I attend an athletic event at UND, something I never
contemplated doing as long as it used the old nickname.
Five years ago I wrote an op-ed titled, "Is the
Fighting Sioux moniker cursed?" I
actually received hate email because of it. That moniker is gone; the curse is
gone also. At least here on the
reservation it is. We no longer have competing petitions, no one is running to
the tribal council to drum up support for one side or the other, our youth are
no longer pressured to state their position, and the free Fighting Sioux
apparel that was passed out prior to vote that was held here on the nickname has
all but disappeared. The curse...err...controversy is no longer mentioned and we
are all better off for of it.
Unfortunately, the curse appears to be still
widespread off the reservations. Every time progress is made on the selection
of a new logo a small group of whiny, self-righteous, privileged, probably
racist supporters of the now discredited nickname conjure up a slew of letters
and send them to the Herald. And, they comment, along with posting what is now
just a generic picture of a good looking Indian man, since it no longer
represents UND, or any tribe for that matter, on the Herald's Facebook page.
It's one of thousands on the internet. Like zombies, they all repeat
predictable childish phrases like, "Sioux forever, or no more donations," or
outlandish phrases like, "We are fighting for our survival." Really? And, could the curse be partly responsible
for the spanking gubernatorial candidate Wayne Stenehjem received in the
primary election after a picture of him wearing a Fighting Sioux jersey was
circulated on Facebook?
Many of those hard-core FS supporters feel they can speak for us Dakota (that's Sioux to Caucasians). They claim how hurt we Dakota are to see the logo gone. This is blatantly false, we Dakota are rejoicing at its demise. We even went as far as holding a celebration at which we invited and honored former UND President Keely for his role is ushering in the new nickname. And, they have this sick, twisted, logic that taking away the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo is somehow an act of oppression against us, when it's the exact opposite. It feels liberating to travel around ND now that that nickname is gone. Finally, they refer to a ceremony held in 1969 that supposedly gave UND the rights to use the nickname. Again, they are speaking from ignorance. If they were familiar with Dakota culture and/or ever attended an actual pipe ceremony they would know that did not happen in 1969.
I am also amused by all the spin off merchandise that is appearing under the guise of supporting the old nickname. In my opinion, those people selling that merchandise are simply taking advantage of the emotions of those few hard core fans by selling them merchandise closely related to the old, discredited nickname. Reminds me of the argument of how the NRA takes advantage of tragedies to sell more guns.
Some people are becoming irate by the Herald's constants coverage of the on-going non-controversy. Not me. Each story is a reminder of a hard fought victory over a deeply embedded racist tradition. I will never get tired of hearing or reading about it. Sort of like my Lakota relatives who every year celebrate their victory over Custer at Greasy Grass 150 years ago.
In closing, what this really comes down to is this;
a few hard core, racist, FS nickname fans just can't stand to let the ndn
"win one". In their views we committed an unspeakable sin by not only
standing up to their racism, but we did the unthinkable; we won, and they can't
let that go, any more then can they let their racism go. I make this
observation from my 63 years of experiencing racism across the state of ND. It
has become my belief that there is no cure for racism, a racist person will
more than likely die a racist. Hence, the hardcore nickname supporters',
lifelong, ungodly obsession with the nickname.
