http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=67251

NICKNAME CONTROVERSY: Spirit Lake UND grads want voices to be heard

By Joseph Marks
Herald Staff Writer - 02/15/2008

A group of enrolled members of the Spirit Lake Sioux reservation who also
are UND graduates are asking that reservation's tribal council not to rush
into a vote on the future of UND's Fighting Sioux nickname and American
Indian head logo.

The letter, signed by 11 and delivered Thursday to the office of Tribal
Chairwoman Myra Pearson, asks the council not to put the nickname issue to
a vote before "you at least listen to what we tribal members, who have
attended UND and who have experienced the negativism spawned by the logo,
have to say as opposed to those who support the logo yet have never put one
foot on the UND campus."

Council members said earlier this month, they'd support polling reservation
residents about their opinions on the logo, either in a referendum vote or
in a less formal way at reservation district meetings. Those polls would
then guide a council vote on a resolution supporting or opposing the
nickname, they said.

The question of whether UND's nickname and Indian head logo are a sign of
respect for American Indians or a regressive stereotype has long been
contentious, even among American Indians themselves.

But the issue became more critical for reservation members in October when
UND settled a yearlong and multimillion dollar lawsuit with the NCAA by
agreeing to let the state's two Sioux tribes decide the nickname's future.

According to the settlement, UND must retire its nickname and logo in three
years if it cannot win the endorsement of both tribes. Standing Rock passed
a resolution strongly opposing the nickname in 2001 and renewed that
resolution earlier this year. Council members have said they have no
intention of reversing that vote.

But Spirit Lake's resolution is less clear and officials there have said
the logo could win out in a majority vote.

Two scenarios

In their letter, the Spirit Lake UND graduates list three concerns about
the proposed vote.

First, the letter states, a tribal council vote supporting the logo likely
wouldn't settle the issue, because pro-logo council members could be
replaced in the next election with anti-logo council members who could call
for another vote. According to the UND-NCAA legal settlement, if both
tribes support the nickname, but one of them later changes its position,
UND would have to retire the logo within one year.

Second, the letter argues, a Spirit Lake vote supporting the logo would
serve no purpose if Standing Rock votes differently or if those votes are
disregarded by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education.

"These are two very possible scenarios," the letter states, "then our vote
and (the) animosity generated by such a vote will all be for nothing."

Third, the letter writers express concern that a poll taken at district
meetings will not be an accurate representation of the whole tribes' views,
because they're typically poorly attended.

Firsthand experience

Though only 11 people signed the letter, they likely represent more than
half of the UND graduates who live on the Spirit Lake reservations where
college degrees are a rarity, said Erich Longie, a former president of the
reservation's tribal college and the letter's chief writer.

Longie has three degrees from UND, including a doctorate in education.

"What prompted the letter is the unimaginable possibility that our tribe
would support a resolution that okays the logo," he said. "For those of us
who attended UND and have been victims of the logo and of racism that came
from the logo, for our tribe to do that is unimaginable."

The current president of Cankdeska Cikana tribal college, Cynthia Lindquist
Mala, also signed the letter. She also holds a doctorate in educational
leadership from UND.

"I signed the letter because I want to make sure people are informed, that
they understand why this is an issue for us," she said. "My perspective
stems from being a North Dakota native, living in both (American Indian and
white) worlds, and my six years as North Dakota Indian Affairs Commissioner
(from 1998 to 2004), and seeing and addressing racism in this state."

Mala said she's considering hosting a series of presentations on her campus
to better inform tribal members about the logo and its effects.

"I am frustrated that it's still going on," she said. "From my perspective
as a tribal member and a UND graduate, I think the institution should know
better. They do know better and they should be addressing it.

"They've turned it so it's about Spirit Lake and Standing Rock and it's our
fault and our issue. We should know better. UND is the state's premier
learning institution and it should be held to a higher standard."

Marks reports on higher education. Reach him at (701) 780-1105, (800)
477-6572, ext. 105; or jmarks@....