http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/travel/538388,TRA-News-Detours02.article

Baseball team does right by tribe
DETOURS | Spokane Tribe helps create Indians' new logo

September 2, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Spokane Indians play minor league baseball in a
quaint stadium built in 1958 on the east side of this former timber town.
But the Indians have made major news by accomplishing a cultural feat that
has been lost on the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Redskins and the
University of Illinois.

The Spokane Tribe of Indians helped create the new team logo.

A pair of eagle feathers circle a baseball. The tribe told the ballclub
that the soaring eagle is the most honored form of representation. The
Indians red game cap has an "S" with an eagle feather accent. T-shirts say
"Spokane Indians Baseball Club," written in Salish, the tribe's language.

A couple of weeks ago I caught an Indians game at Avista Stadium, where the
original lights came from Gilmore Field in Hollywood, Calif., and the
original batting cage from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, N.Y.

I was in town for "Native Culture Night" at the ballpark.

Before the game, a Native American Honor Song that commemorates culture and
group was performed by eight tribal members who circled a drum. A Native
American VFW tribe presented the colors. The National Anthem was sung by
Coeur d'Alene tribe member C.C. Curtis. The Indians work with five tribes
in the Spokane area through the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT). All
area tribal members received discount tickets, food and a commemorative
cap. About 200 local tribe members attended the game.

The Indians have been in Spokane since 1903, and the ballpark is built on
the tribe's ancestral campgrounds.

"For the last 20 years we haven't done anything with Native American
imagery," said team president Andrew Billig in a conversation at the
stadium along the Dishman Hills. "Our logo was just 'Spokane Indians.' No
arrows, feathers or anything. When we decided on a new logo, we went to the
tribe and said we were going to stay without imagery."

The tribe responded by thanking the team for the respect shown by not doing
what other sports teams do with Native Americans caricatures and design.
Then, the tribe added they would prefer to create a production hand in hand
with the team.

"We hear so much about disrespectful display against Native Americans
within the sporting world," said Jamie Sijohn, spokesperson for the Spokane
Tribe in a phone interview from the reservation in Wellpinit, Wash. "The
baseball team turned that around and made a promise they would not
disrespect native culture. This was a great opportunity for the Spokane
Tribe not only to help the team stay on the respectful path, but it also
gave us an opportunity to educate the citizens of Spokane. Too many people
think the Spokane Tribe took their name after the city, which is not true.
The city took their name from the Spokane Tribe. We hope other Indian-named
organizations across the country keep this ground-breaking concept in mind
with their own neighboring Indian tribes."

Billig added, "This blew our expectations away as well as the tribe's. Even
nationally, we've become the anti-wave of what's going on."

The Indians experience is a far cry from the demise of Chief Illiniwek at
the University of Illinois -- although in 1982 Oglala Sioux Tribal Nation
spiritual leader Frank Fools Crow presented a headdress with original eagle
feathers to the university for the chief's regalia. The eagle feathers were
later replaced by turkey feathers. In January the tribe asked for the
feathers to be returned, but they haven't surfaced according to a
spokesperson at tribal offices on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in
South Dakota.

Last fall the Spokane Indians recruited the Plan B Branding design firm in
San Diego, which specializes in minor league baseball logos. Billig, 39,
and his staff met four different times with tribal members on the
reservation in Wellpinit, an hour northwest of Spokane. The team also
received input from other members of Upper Columbia United Tribes. There
was no discussion on an Indian-themed mascot. The team's mascot is OTTO the
Spokansauras.

The Indians are owned by the Brett brothers (Bobby, J.D., Hall of Famer
George and the family of the late major league pitcher Ken). They purchased
the club in 1985 and saved the beloved stadium in partnership with Spokane
County. [Los Angeles Dodger great Maury Wills scored the ballpark's first
run in 1958.] Principal owner Bobby Brett has lived in Spokane since 1990.
He also owns the minor league Spokane Chiefs hockey team.

In a conversation during the game against the Tri-City Dust Devils -- also
owned by his brother George -- Brett said, "We were very sensitive of the
fact that Native Americans bought into this. The local tribe is very proud
of the team name. In a lot of other places they want to take off the Indian
or the brave. This is a community that wanted to keep it on."

The Indians lead the short season Northwest League in attendance with an
average of 5,017 fans a game. An affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the
Indians regular season concludes with Labor Day, Tuesday and Wednesday home
games against the Yakima Bears.

Long after the ballplayers have packed up and gone home, the impact of the
historic collaboration will remain. Visitors are encouraged to check out
the mountains and waterways of the Spokane Tribe of Indians
(www.spokanetribe.com, (509) 458-6586) in Wellpinit. Thousands of people
will attend the 93rd annual Labor Day Powwow on the tribal fairgrounds. The
Two Rivers Casino and Resort is on the west end of the reservation at the
confluence of the Columbia and Spokane rivers. Long ago tribal members
fished these rivers. The resort has RV camp space, a marina and houseboats
for rent.

The Spokane tribal membership is 2,441 people. The reservation was formed
in 1881. "The city of Spokane is in the heart of our ancestral homeland,"
Sijohn said. "Originally we had over 3 million acres. As years passed with
treaties and the reservation, we're down to 154,000 acres. But we are still
strong and we are still growing." And the cultural scope grew this summer
with an assist from America's pastime, always close to the earth at the
minor league level.