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Majority in N.D. support ‘Fighting Sioux,’ poll shows
By Mike Nowatzki
The Forum - 09/09/2005

Most American Indians living in North Dakota are not offended by the
University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname, but nearly half
don’t think the university should use it, according to a statewide poll
commissioned by The Forum.

In North Dakota’s overall population, 81 percent said they agreed with the
University of North Dakota’s use of the nickname and Indian-head logo.

And while 63 percent of American Indians said UND should change the name if
the state’s Sioux tribes formally request it, only 35 percent of statewide
residents agreed.

When asked if they are offended by the nickname, 61 percent of North
Dakota’s American Indians said they are not, compared with 95 percent of
people in the state’s overall population.

Thirty-eight percent of American Indians said they are offended, compared
with 5 percent of people statewide.

UND President Charles Kupchella said those results are similar to a 2002
Sports Illustrated national poll that found 81 percent of American Indians
living outside reservations and 53 percent living on reservations didn’t
find such nicknames offensive.

“There’s certainly not a majority of American Indians who think these are
problematic,” Kupchella said.

However, Cedric Good House, a Lakota member of the Standing Rock Sioux in
south-central North Dakota, pointed out that a poll the following year by
Indian Country Today came up with opposite results.

Good House, of Fort Yates, also noted that Sioux Indians account for less
than one-third of the state’s American Indian population – 27 percent,
according to state demographer Richard Rathge.

If only Sioux tribal members had been asked if the nickname is offensive,
the percentage of those responding “yes” likely would have been higher than
38 percent, Good House said.

“It’s not directed at them,” he said of the other tribes.

UND has appealed the NCAA’s decision to ban “hostile or abusive” nicknames
or logos from postseason play. Sixty-two percent of statewide poll
respondents said UND’s appeal is the right move. Only 8 percent said the
nickname should change.

By contrast, 35 percent of the American Indian poll group said UND should
change its nickname, while 31 percent said it should fight the NCAA ruling.

Kupchella wasn’t surprised by the poll numbers. He said he’s received
hundreds of e-mail responses since the appeal was filed last week, and only
a dozen criticized the decision to appeal.

“Clearly, we’re feeling much support for the action we anticipated and
eventually took. This just confirms it,” Kupchella said of The Forum’s
poll.

Nickname opponents argue “Fighting Sioux” demeans and stereotypes the Sioux
people; supporters say it’s used with honor and respect.

Of the 44 percent of American Indians who said they agree with UND’s use of
the nickname, one-third said it’s a compliment and honor to American
Indians, and 39 percent cited tradition as their reason for agreeing.

The 47 percent who disagreed with the nickname said it was derogatory,
causes dissension between tribes and portrays the Sioux only as fighters.

In fact, the “Fighting” half of the nickname was a common complaint among
opponents in the American Indian poll group.

“Many times what would be said to the interviewers was, ‘Well, if they
would just take the “fighting” out,’ ” said Trish Duffy, president of
pollsters PMR of Davenport, Iowa, which conducted the poll for The Forum.

Good House said he is opposed to the word “Sioux” itself, adding it
originated from an Ojibwa word meaning snake.

“How do you take a name that wasn’t a good name to begin with and use it to
honor a people?” he said. “How can they not see the offense in that?”

But not all Sioux people find the term offensive. Carole Two Bears, 42, who
lives in Cannon Ball, N.D., on the Standing Rock Reservation, said she took
pride in the “Solen Sioux” name when it was used by Solen High School’s
athletic teams, and she cheers for the UND Fighting Sioux today.

“It’s not really an issue,” said Two Bears, who was included in the Forum
poll.

The apparent split between American Indians who oppose and support the
nickname shows there is a middle ground, and UND must work to address the
concerns of those opposed, Kupchella said.

American Indian alumni of UND were among those most opposed to the
nickname. Three out of four said UND should change the nickname in light of
the NCAA ruling, and 80 percent disagreed with its use. Sixty-five percent
said they were offended by the nickname.

Marty Davis of Belcourt, N.D., a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa who attended UND in the 1970s, said she remembers homecoming
parade floats with unflattering depictions of Sioux Indians. She said the
Fighting Sioux nickname and logo are disrespectful to all American Indians.

In the statewide poll, 63 percent of UND alums said the university should
fight the NCAA ruling; 13 percent supported a nickname change.

However, the majority of both poll groups said their support of UND
wouldn’t change if the nickname did.

In fact, 24 percent of American Indians said they would actually support
the school less if the name was dropped, a figure Kupchella called
“profound.” Ten percent said they would support the university more.

Having UND support the state’s tribes financially wouldn’t make the
nickname and logo more acceptable, said 65 percent of the American Indian
group and 56 percent of the statewide group.

The statewide poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent at a
95 percent level of confidence. The American Indian poll had a 9.8 percent
margin of error.

While UND pays attention to polls on the nickname, it isn’t a majority-rule
issue that will be decided by numbers, Kupchella said.

“It has to be deeper than that,” he said. “It’s weighing the less obvious
good-and-bad outcomes and ramifications of either keeping it or not keeping
it,” he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528