Retirment of Chief Illiniwek

The Chief Illiniwek has been long used as the mascot of University of Illinois since ๑๙๒๖. It is approximately 80 years for the honest service but it becomes to the end of its fate. Illinois subjected to the final order of the NCAA or National Collegiate Athletic Association to stop using this "hostile mascot" so that U of Illinois may able to take part in the sport competitions hosted by the NCAA. Without any alternative, U of I declared to the retirement of the Chief last week.

To memorize of this honest service, I love to record the story posted in the wikipedia as following link in my blog. Please click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Illiniwek)

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Chief Illiniwek was the mascot and an official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 until its final appearance at a Men's Basketball game on February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was generally portrayed by a European American student dressed in Native American regalia (specifically, a Sioux costume), and he performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches (although three students of non European American descent — Mike Gonzalez (who is Latino), Steve Raquel, who is of Filipino descent and Peter Kim, who is of Korean descent; have also portrayed Illiniwek). For over two decades, Chief Illniwek has been the center of a controversy. At the root of the controversy is the view of many Native Americans and others that the symbol is a misappropriation of indigenous cultural figures and rituals and that it perpetuates stereotypes about Native American peoples. As a result of this controversy, the NCAA termed Chief Illiniwek a "hostile or abusive" "mascot" and image, and banned the university from hosting postseason activities as long as it continued to use the "mascot" and image.
Chief Illiniwek and the Chief Illiniwek logo — a stylized front view of a Native American face and headdress — are trademarks of the University. Licensed use of the logo by the university has been increasingly restrictive as a result of the ongoing controversy.
Chief Illiniwek was sometimes referred to as the University's mascot, though the University's Board of Trustees and its supporters have insisted that symbol is the appropriate label. The beginning of the Chief Illiniwek tradition predated the use of mascots in most sports teams.[1]
During sporting events, the Chief was portrayed by a student selected via audition and wearing traditional Sioux Lakota regalia sold to the University marching band by Chief Frank Fools Crow. The portrayal also included a dance of unknown origins, possibly adapted from early 20th century fancy dancing via the Boy Scouts (see History, below). His dance corresponded to the music and lyrics of the "Three in One" performed by the university band, which is an arrangement of three original songs entitled "The March of the Illini," "Hail to the Orange," and "Pride of the Illini." The Chief performs only at major sporting events hosted by the University. The stated intent of the Chief was to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Controversy
2.1 Position of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
2.2 NCAA involvement
3 Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini
4 Retiring Chief Illiniwek
5 References
6 Films
7 External links
8 See also

[edit] History
The origin of Chief Illniwek dates to 1926, when Ray Dvorak, assistant director of bands at the University of Illinois, conceived the idea of having a Native American war dance performed during halftime of Illinois football games. The first performance occurred on October 30, 1926, during the halftime of a game against the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. At the conclusion of his performance, he was met at midfield by a drum major dressed as the University of Pennsylvania Quaker mascot, offered a peace pipe, and walked off the field arm in arm. Student Lester Leutwiler, an Eagle Scout, created the original costume and performed the dance based upon his studies as a Boy Scout. The expression Illiniwek (meaning "the complete human being - the strong, agile human body, and the indomitable human spirit")[2] was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois football team by football coach Bob Zuppke, referring to the Illiniwek Confederation of Native Americans who had historically inhabited much of present-day Illinois.
Another student, A. Webber Borchers, solidified the tradition, continuing the performances and soliciting contributions for a permanent costume in 1930. Since then, the costume has been replaced several times, most recently in 1982. The current costume was sold to the University marching band by Frank Fools Crow, chief of the Oglala Sioux (a nation unrelated to the Illiniwek), after being sewn by his wife. The costume contained real eagle feathers, but because eagle feathers are sacred to Native Americans, and because they come from a protected species, the feathers in the headdresses worn by the Chief were replaced with dyed turkey feathers after request of protesters.
Pro-Chief groups and the University's Department of InterCollegiate Athletics suggest that the symbol has the support of the Oglala Sioux[citation needed] while the actual descendants of the Illiniwek oppose the Chief (see Controversy, below). On January 17, 2007, however, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Tribal Council issued a resolution, asking that UIUC cease the use of the symbol, and return the regalia to the family of Frank Fools Crow. The resolution was delivered to UI's Board of Trustees, UI President White, and UIUC Chancellor Herman. UIUC's Native American House was authorized by the Oglala's to distribute the resolution to the public.[3]

The neutrality of this article is disputed.Please see the discussion on the talk page.
Chief Illiniwek's dance was derived from "Indian Lore" studies done by university students who had been Boy Scouts of America. Said organization, then and now, works to preserve elements of Native American culture[citation needed]. The three- or four-minute dance is based on fancy dance, a style that originated in the Great Plains as a means of providing a more secular display than purely sacred dancing, and which is practiced today by many Native Americans at pow-wows. The dance has evolved over time; each student who performs the role of the Chief augments the basic performance with his own movements and steps. Although it is claimed the dance is similar to traditional fancy dance, the Chief's routine includes mid-air splits, which are rarely found in Native fancy dance. Only the music has remained unchanged, with the Chief always performing to the "Three in One." In the 1990s, literature distributed by the University ceased describing the dance as "authentic."
Since 1926 a total of 35 different students have performed the role of the Chief. All but one have been men: one woman, Idelle Stith Brooks, served in 1943 due to the shortage of male students during World War II; she was called "Princess Illiniwek." To date, none of the performers has been a Native American.

[edit] Controversy
From the mid-1970s, the Chief was the subject of debate at the University of Illinois.[2] Protests began in 1989 when Charlene Teters, a graduate student from the Spokane tribe, began protesting the Chief at athletic events after her young son and daughter's reaction to the Chief's dance at a basketball game.[4] Soon, individuals and organizations, some from outside of the University, began to support the Chief's elimination. Some academic departments have adopted official stances in favor of retirement of the symbol. External organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Education Association, Amnesty International, the Modern Language Association, and Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas also took positions in favor of retiring the Chief.[5]
Student and alumni organizations, such as the Honor the Chief Society and Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation, are dedicated to explaining and preserving the tradition of Chief Illiniwek.
Among the national Native American organizations which called for the retirement of the symbol were the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Education Association. At the UIUC campus, the Native American House, the American Indian Studies program, and the Native American student organizations all called for its retirement.
Those in favor of retiring the Chief contended that the Chief misappropriates Native American culture and perpetuates harmful racial or ethnic stereotypes. They argued that this obstructed the creation of a diverse and tolerant learning community, harmed the reputation of the University, and promoted an inaccurate image of Native Americans. Those in support of the Chief claimed that he was a revered symbol representing not only a proud people but the great spirit of a great university.
As a result of student activism calling for support for Native American students and an American Indian Studies program, UIUC established the Native American House and American Indian Studies program in 2003. As reported in the University of Illinois student databook in 2003, students of Native American descent made up 0.2% of the overall student population, and only 0.1% of the faculty are of Native American origin. This is in contrast with the national average of 0.4%. However, it should be noted that the state of Illinois has a lower than average proportion of Native Americans.[6] Some Illiniwek were forcibly removed from the state of Illinois during the time of Indian Removal. The forced relocation of Indian nations between 1818 and 1833 made way for non-Indians to claim the territory as the state of Illinios. Due to government-sponsored assimilation programs, many Native people moved in the 1950s to large urban areas such as Chicago. Founded in 1953, Chicago's American Indian Center is the oldest urban Indian center in the country, and there is a substantial American Indian population in Chicago.
In 2006, the University Board of Trustees opted to study the issue and passed a resolution calling for "a consensus conclusion to the matter of Chief Illiniwek." Many on both sides of the issue find this resolution problematic, given that former trustee Roger Plummer determined that a compromise on the issue was not possible. Thus far, the Board of Trustees has not consulted on the matter with the faculty of the American Indian Studies Program.
In the past few years, opinion polls on the subject have not been much help in defining Native American opinion on the subject. In 2002, a Peter Harris Research Group poll of those who declared Native American ethnicity on a U.S. census showed that 81% of Native Americans support the use of Indian nicknames in high school and college sports, and 83% of Native Americans support the use of Indian mascots and symbols in professional sports. However, the methods and results of this poll have been disputed.[7] A separate poll conducted by the Native-run newspaper Indian Country Today in 2001 reported that 81 percent of those polled "indicated use of American Indian names, symbols and mascots are predominantly offensive and deeply disparaging to Native Americans."
A non-binding student referendum on Chief Illiniwek was conducted in March 2004. Of the approximately one third of the student body who cast ballots, 69 percent of the voters favored retention of the Chief.[8] Faculty have tended to be critical of the Chief.

[edit] Position of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy, having been relocated to Oklahoma in the 19th century. The position of the tribal leadership has evolved over the years. In a television interview with WICD-TV in 1995, Don Giles, then Chief of the Peoria Tribe, said, "To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We are proud. We're proud that the University of Illinois, the flagship university of the state, a seat of learning, is drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us?" Supporting Chief Giles was another tribal elder, Ron Froman, who stated that the protesters "don't speak for all Native Americans, and certainly not us."[2]
Ron Froman was later elected Chief, by which time his views on the Chief Illiniwek symbol had changed. His opinions shifted following meetings with American Indian students attending the University. In April 2000, the tribal council, with Chief Froman's support, passed by the margin of 3 to 2 a resolution requesting "the leadership of the University of Illinois to recognize the demeaning nature of the characterization of Chief Illiniwek, and cease use of this mascots [sic]". [1] Froman stated "I don't know what the origination was, or what the reason was for the university to create Chief Illiniwek. I don't think it was to honor us, because, hell, they ran our (butts) out of Illinois."[9] This puts Chief Illiniwek in a position different from that of the mascots of other schools such as Florida State University, whose Native American mascots are not opposed by the leadership of the corresponding tribes. In 2005, a new Chief, John P. Froman, when asked his position by the NCAA, indicated that "the Chief was not representative of our tribe and culture, mainly because the costume is Sioux."[10] In 2006, in response to a widely published column by journalist George Will in support of the symbol's use, he wrote a letter reiterating the Peoria Tribe's opposition to the symbol and decrying that the "University of Illinois has ignored the tribe’s request for nearly five years." [11]

[edit] NCAA involvement
In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the primary governing board for intercollegiate athletics, instituted a ban on schools that use what they call "hostile and abusive American Indian nicknames" from hosting postseason games, beginning February 2006. The University of Illinois is among the 18 schools subject to the ban which, among other things, prohibits the University from hosting NCAA-sponsored tournaments. The ban was soon expanded to include Bowl Championship Series-sponsored bowl games, starting with the 2006 football season. The university appealed the ban in October on the grounds that it violates NCAA bylaws and violated institutional autonomy.
On November 11, 2005, the NCAA, stating that it had "found no new information relative to the mascot, known as ‘Chief Illiniwek’ or the logo mark used by some athletics teams that depicts a Native American in feathered headdress,"[12] upheld the ban on the University of Illinois. However, it did allow the continued use of the nicknames "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" by the University because they are based on the name of the state and not of Native American descent. The university appealed the decision again on January 30, 2006, mere days before the deadline.[13] While the NCAA Executive Committee granted an extension to April 28, the committee's next meeting, to other schools affected by the ban, the University of Illinois requested a longer stay until May 15, the end of the current semester. The Executive Committee ignored the request for a longer stay, and denied the university's second appeal while indicating that no further appeals would be entertained.[14]
The Chicago Sun-Times reported on August 31, 2006 that Chief Illiniwek would "no longer be an official university symbol" after the 2006-2007 basketball season. The paper also reported that the ownership of the Chief would be transitioned to an organization called the "Council of Chiefs" and made up of a number of people who have previously portrayed Chief Illiniwek. The next day, however, the University disputed the Sun-Times report. University sources confirmed that several former Chiefs had met with University officials to discuss preserving the symbol's tradition, but stated that the so-called "Council of Chiefs" did not exist as a formally organized group. A University spokesman stated that "no decisions have been made" regarding the symbol's fate. [2]

[edit] Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini
Some have incorrectly linked Chief Illiniwek with the nickname Fighting Illini. Though many assume that both are based on Illinois' Native American traditions, the name "Illini" was first associated with the school by the student newspaper, which changed its name to The Illini in the late nineteenth century. (The paper is now called The Daily Illini.) The addition of the adjective "fighting" originated about five years before the appearance of Chief Illiniwek as a tribute to Illinois soldiers killed in World War I. Similarly, the on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, was named in honor of these fallen soldiers. As stated above, the NCAA has exempted the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" from its ban on "hostile and abusive" Native American imagery, leading many to believe that the name will continue to be used regardless of the fate of Chief Illiniwek. (Note: the name of the state, "Illinois", from which the paper and the school presumably got their names, derives from the name of the Illiniwek confederacy.)

[edit] Retiring Chief Illiniwek
On February 16, 2007, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees issued a consensus ruling retiring Chief Illiniwek. The last performance by current chief, Dan Maloney of Galesburg, was February 21st at the last men's home basketball game in Assembly Hall of the 2006-2007 regular season. [15]

[edit] References
King, C. Richard, and Charles Fruehling Springwood, eds. (2001). Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy. Foreword by Vine Deloria Jr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Spindel, Carol (2002). Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy Over American Indian Mascots. Updated edition, with a new afterword. New York: New York University Press.
^ Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. Noble spirit more than just a mascot. March 6, 2001.
^ a b c Louis B. Garippo, Moderator. The Chief Illiniwek Dialogue. History Of The Controversy. March 30, 2000.
^ Native American House and American Indian Studies, UIUC. Current Mascot News. January 17, 2007.
^ Rebecca A. Doyle. Teters uses art to fight racism in sports and media. The University (of Michigan) Record. January 25, 1999.
^ UIUC Faculty Association. Chief Illiniwek and Fighting Illini. Accessed February 20, 2007.
^ US Census Quick Facts
^ King et al. Of Polls and Race Prejudice: Sports Illustrated’s Errant "Indian Wars". Journal of Sport and Social Issues.2002; 26: 381-402. (Subscription required)
^ Mary Johnson . Daily Illini. Students vote in favor of Chief Illiniwek. March 19, 2004.
^ The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media (NCRSM). Peoria Tribe Of Oklahoma Request That UIUC Cease Use Of Chief Illiniwek As Mascot. April 13, 1999.
^ Daily Illini. Courtney Linehan. Illiniwek appeal denied. November 14, 2005.
^ John P. Froman. Letter to George Will of The Washington Post. January 6, 2006.
^ NCAA. Statement by NCAA Senior Vice-President for Governance and Membership Bernard Franklin on University of Illinois, Champaign Review. November 11, 2005.
^ The News-Gazette. Jodi Heckel. UI submits second appeal to NCAA. January 31, 2006.
^ Daily Illini. Courtney Linehan. NCAA says Chief must go. April 28, 2006.
^ Official University of Illinois Press Release regarding Retirement

[edit] Films
Chief Video Documentary - The Chief & The Tradition
In Whose Honor? (1997). Written and produced by Jay Rosenstein. Ho-ho-kus, New Jersey: New Day Films.

[edit] External links
Official University of Illinois Press Release regarding Retirement
UIUC Native American House statements on Chief Illiniwek, Fighting Illini, UIUC's response to NCAA
Retire the Chief.org
Honor the Chief Society
Honor The Chief Foundation
The Chief Illiniwek Dialogue - A report to the Board of Trustees regarding Chief Illiniwek.
Plummer Report
Chief Illiniwek Myspace Page
Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation.org
American Psychological Association Resolution calling for Retirement of Native American imagery in sports
Press Release on NCAA's response to the University of Illinois' appeal
Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media (NCRSM)-- Illinois Chapter
I-Resist
Champaign News-Gazette: Former Chiefs gather to celebrate 80th anniversary of symbol
Last Dance by Chief Illiniwek
University of Illinois' Announcement Concerning the Chief Illiniwek Tradition