Re: University of North Dakota, version 2.0
Yes, I know that everyone has had enough of the nickname issue, but I'm posting this article anyway. It makes my blood boil! Hypocritical aholes!! Its not OK to use the Fighting Sioux nickname for athletics because the PC ****s got their way, and because its degrading to the Indians. But its OK to use the Sioux Award because it is awarded by the Alumni Assoc and not the university? Its an honor when it is bestowed by the Alumni Assoc but racist when the same term is used for the athletic teams? What a crock of ****!
A committee working on UND’s transition from the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo will recommend to President Robert Kelley that the university also discontinue their use by all nonathletic organizations and activities directly connected to the school.
The 21-member panel, whose members include administrators, faculty, staff, students and community members, fine-tuned its report Tuesday and expects to formally adopt its report early next month, in time for Kelley to review the recommendation with members of his transition cabinet Jan. 19.
The recommendation from the Honoring History and Tradition Task Group would apply to such uses as names and logos on UND clothing and other merchandise, graduation diplomas, UND TV and radio marketing, UND publications, the UND Fighting Sioux ROTC battalion, Sioux Laundry, the Soaring Sioux hot air balloon club and the Sioux Strong breast cancer organization.
But the “Sioux” name is likely to continue in some indirect non-athletic uses, including the Sioux Award, for decades the highest honor bestowed by the Alumni Association.
Tim O’Keefe, executive vice president of the association and a member of the transition panel, said the award has a long history of its own and should continue.
Also, the Sioux Award is bestowed by the association, not the university, and it has no connection to athletics, O’Keefe said, which “puts it outside the domain” of the university’s legal settlement with the NCAA, which had sought elimination of Native American nicknames and logos used by collegiate athletic teams.
To comply with terms of the settlement, the transition is to be complete by Aug. 25, 2011.
Keep Sioux Award or let it go, too?
In recent weeks, members of the history and traditions group twice filled out questionnaires to gauge sentiment for retaining or discontinuing various uses.
There was unanimous or near-unanimous support for eliminating most of the “UND non-athletic uses.” The committee also sampled members’ opinions on “non-UND supporting uses,” and nearly 60 percent said the Sioux Award name should go.
O’Keefe said he will recommend retaining the name for the award when the governance committee of the Alumni Association’s board meets in mid-January.
“They’ll have two or three meetings, and, if there are debates or discussions, that’s where they would occur,” he said. The alumni committee would make a recommendation to the full board when it meets on campus in May.
“I have not had any discussion about the Sioux Award with our board, but I would be very surprised if there would be any movement toward a change,” he said. “There’s nothing today I could see that would lead me to think otherwise.”
O’Keefe said it’s clear that some applications of the Sioux name under review by the committee are destined to go away, along with “things that already have been decided, if they have anything to do with athletics,” such as the Fighting Sioux Club, Sioux Crew and the Sioux Sports Show.
“The ‘Sioux-per Swing’ golf tournaments are done,” he said. “The Fighting Sioux Club will change its name. It’s athletic, it’s specific to the (NCAA) settlement, and we’ll follow the institution’s lead on that.
“But others like the Sioux Award — each has its own history, and that history has to be considered.”
The task group has considered including in its report to Kelley a suggestion that private businesses using the Sioux name, such as Siouxland Buffalo, be encouraged to go with the transition. “But when you talk about things in the private sector, I think that’s outside our business (to recommend retaining or retiring),” O’Keefe said in an interview prior to Tuesday’s meeting. “The public will decide that with their feet and their wallets.”
“Sioux’ since 1962
The Alumni Association gave its first “service award” in 1949 to one of UND’s first graduates, M. Beatrice Johnstone. The award was made annual and its name was changed in 1956 to Distinguished Service Citation, and former UND presidents, benefactor Chester Fritz and bandleader Lawrence Welk were among the honorees.
The name was changed to the Sioux Award in 1962.
“I haven’t solicited their thoughts on this, but I’ve had several winners comment to me about how this is for them the greatest honor they’ve received in their life,” O’Keefe said. “They feel very strongly about the continuance of the award.”
One of this year’s Sioux Award winners, former Grand Forks Mayor H.C. “Bud” Wessman, said his plaque rests on the fireplace mantle in his Fargo home, and he hopes “that it continues to be known as the Sioux Award” in years to come.
“To me, the name represents a very proud heritage,” he said.
“In my acceptance speech, I said that if you look carefully at the state seal, you’ll see that mighty Sioux warrior astride his pony. If it was important to recognize and honor that back in 1889 when they started this great state, it’s probably even more important today.”
Other 2010 Sioux Award winners were Howard Dahl, an entrepreneur in the field of farm implements; Greg Page, chairman and CEO of Cargill, and Mary Wakefield, former director of the UND Medical School’s Center for Rural Health and now head of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
Honorees in 2009 included former Gov. Ed Schafer and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg.
