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6 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
7 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
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9 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
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11 SPECIAL DIALOGUE INTAKE SESSION
12 CHIEF ILLINIWEK
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14 TRANSCRIPT OF NARRATIVES TAPED
15 IN THE FOELLINGER BALCONY
16 APRIL 14, 2000
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1 SPEAKER: Page
2 Robert Dunn 4
Nancy Deters 6
3 Tom Bassett 6
4 Cathy Harper 10
Chris Drew 12
5 Desere Untoob 14
6 Noble Glaudell 16
Nancy Henne 18
7 Mark Butcher 19
8 Matt Tittle 20
Lori Kingery 24
9 Leonard Malatere 26
10 Yvonne Murry 30
Diana Stimpel 30
11 Daniel Green 32
12 Nora Lloyd 34
Frank P. Johnson 36
13 Eli Suzukovich 38
14 April Pierce 38
Weylin Webster Williams 39
15 Janet Tucker 42
16 Ronald Jordan 43
Bob Craft 46
17 Carl Kron 46
18 Stephanie Cord 49
Jacqueline French 51
19 Paul Youth 52
20 Susan Weaver 54
Frank Krasnowski 56
21 Gwen Carr 57
22 Anuj Parikh 60
Sherry Naanes 63
23 Bryan Thalhammer 66
24 Matthew Pyles 67
Ronald Black 69
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1 Arvin Gee 71
Dean Cook 71
2 Lindsay Robinson 75
3 Nick Guroff 78
Anni-Fridsantos 80
4 Frank Trechsel 80
5 Durango Mendoza 84
Danielle Osler 87
6 Jennifer Putnam 90
7 Diana Regina Stimpel 92
Felicia Graves 95
8 Megan Bang 98
9 Dianne Pinderhughes 100
Matt Harsh 103
10 David Anderson 107
11 Cassandra Kegler 108
Kateri Garcia 109
12 Tamara Daniel 110
13 Chad Daniel 111
Meg Miner 114
14 Kimberly Krinach 115
15 Umeeta Sadarangani 117
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1 MR. ROBERT DUNN: As I said, my name is
2 Robert Dunn. I am a senior at Urbana High School
3 and I have been involved in the movement for the
4 last three years. For the last, since I became
5 involved and became aware of this at the high
6 school, I have received numerous harassment,
7 threats of violence towards me just because of my
8 stance and I believe this is directly because of
9 the University's symbol.
10 When people have friends who are native,
11 you have kids coming up going "hey yaw, hey yaw,
12 hey" and then afterwards they ask, why did you do
13 that, and they said we are honoring you. That is
14 not honor.
15 I mean, if you want to honor native
16 Americans, you live up to the treaties that you
17 signed with them. And I know that is all the way
18 back from the 1800s, but those treaties still
19 exist today. And if you want to honor them, you
20 know, include them into mainstream society. But
21 let them, let native people still have their
22 religion, you know, stop mocking them for
23 entertainment and then using honor as an excuse
24 for your own personal entertainment.
PAGE 5
1 And you know, this stuff about the
2 Peoria tribe, the Peoria tribe just passed a
3 resolution, I don't know if anyone has seen it
4 yet, but they just passed a resolution against
5 Chief Illiniwek and they apologized because when
6 Channel 15 came to them, which is our local NBC
7 affiliate, came to them, decided that they did not
8 know anything about Chief Illiniwek back in '95
9 and had they known, they would have gone against
10 it. And so they feel really used by what the
11 University has done by using their misquotes and
12 misrepresentation of what they said.
13 And so, the only way to repay Native
14 Americans is to get rid of this mascot and build a
15 native culture house and native studies department
16 and start recruiting native students, faculty and
17 staff. That is the only way, so please, the Board
18 of Trustees, this University needs to wake up,
19 this Hollywood, this ridiculous Hollywood stuff
20 needs to go. This isn't the 1920s anymore, that's
21 when the Chief came around.
22 Also, what was back then in the 1920s
23 was a little black symbol and if you look in your
24 old past year books, you can see fraternities
PAGE 6
1 putting on black face and having little minstrel
2 shows. And so that's another thing you have to
3 look where this came from. This came from a
4 racist environment and it still is.
5 So in conclusion I have to say retire
6 this mascot, that is the only way that justice can
7 be served. Thank you.
8 MS. NANCY DETERS: My name is Nancy
9 Deters, I have been interested in this because of
10 my kids, five of out of six of them have gone to
11 school here. And after I read all the good stuff
12 and all the heavy duty stuff, what comes down to
13 me is that if you have respect for another person,
14 you don't have to love them or like them, but if
15 you have respect and you are doing something that
16 hurts them and they tell you that and they ask you
17 to stop, then you stop. It's that simple. It has
18 nothing to do with your intentions, you can have
19 the best intentions in the world. If it hurts,
20 you stop it. Thank you.
21 MR. TOM BASSETT: Tom Bassett, the title
22 of my presentation is "How Chief Illiniwek
23 Undermines Undergraduate Education at the
24 University of Illinois."
PAGE 7
1 My name is Professor Tom Bassett. I
2 teach one of the largest undergraduate classes at
3 the University in the College of Liberal Arts and
4 Sciences, Geography 101, the Geography of
5 Developing Countries.
6 Each semester, this class has enrollment
7 of 500 students. The class fulfills the
8 nonwestern culture requirement of the University.
9 One of the reasons that students are required to
10 take such a class is that the University believes
11 it's important that students are exposed to
12 diversity of cultures that are different from
13 their own.
14 It is part of our larger mission in
15 preparing students to enter the wider world in a
16 way they can act responsibly and intelligently,
17 and I hope, with a sense of social justice as
18 citizens of an increasing global economy and
19 society. This is a challenge.
20 Most of the students in geography 101
21 come to the University with very little
22 understanding of the world outside of Chicago
23 suburbs. The fourth week of classes I regularly
24 conduct what I call a third world awareness
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1 exercise. Students are asked to write down five
2 words or expressions that capture the essence of
3 the developing world. They are then asked to
4 write five explanations of why the third world is
5 the way they described it.
6 More than 90 percent of the responses
7 usually depict the people in places of Africa,
8 Latin America and southern Asia in negative terms.
9 Corruption, famine, war, natural disasters,
10 poverty, overpopulation and so on.
11 In discussion sections, we talk about
12 the origins of these negative impressions.
13 Students invariably point to the media and its
14 tendency to portray these distant lands in
15 sensational terms as a way of getting the reader's
16 attention.
17 My goal in conducting this exercise is
18 for students to recognize that they have a biased
19 view of the nonwestern world. The repeated focus
20 on disasters, tragedies and suffering creates
21 negative stereotypes of nonwestern peoples which
22 prevents American students from seeing the
23 positive aspects of third world cultures.
24 In short, one of the challenges I face,
PAGE 9
1 and one which I greatly enjoy, is to make students
2 come to terms with their ethnocentric views of
3 nonwestern peoples and to see that their
4 perspective is just one of many ways of living in
5 this world.
6 The presence of Chief Illiniwek on
7 campus undermines my pedagogical objective of
8 challenging stereotypes and making students come
9 to terms with their ethnocentric views. Although
10 many students view Chief Illiniwek in positive
11 terms, he is nonetheless a stereotype that hinders
12 our understanding of American Indian history and
13 culture.
14 The Chief's lineage is directly tied to
15 Buffalo Bill's wild west shows, the Boy Scouts and
16 Hollywood westerns. These are notoriously biased
17 views of Native Americans that are inappropriate
18 in a university setting. Dressing up and playing
19 Indian for half-time entertainment is greatly
20 disrespectful to Native Americans. Imagine a
21 South African sporting event in which an Africana
22 dresses up as a Sulu chief and dances at half-time
23 to the cheers of a white audience. We would
24 consider such behavior shameful in the context of
PAGE 10
1 the history of colonization, displacement and
2 apartheid in that country.
3 Yet, we do it here on the campus of the
4 University of Illinois. Our government wave of
5 systematic campaign of Indian removal and forced
6 migration to make way for nonnative settlers, some
7 would call it ethnic cleansing today. Today we
8 engage in the culturally insensitive act of having
9 Anglo students masquerade as American Indians at
10 our sporting events.
11 The contradiction between the
12 University's mission of increasing student
13 awareness of the diversity of places, peoples and
14 cultures in today's society and the perpetuation
15 of stereotypes that demean native peoples should
16 be apparent to one and all.
17 Unfortunately, this is not the case.
18 The only appropriate solution to this
19 contradiction is to retire Chief Illiniwek and
20 create a new mascot and symbol that is befitting a
21 first rate educational institution that purports
22 to value diversity and respect for other cultures.
23 Thank you.
24 MS. CATHY HARPER: I am a member of
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1 this community, I am not directly affiliated with
2 the University at all. I have lived here for 20
3 years. I will probably live here until the day I
4 die. My husband and I are raising three children
5 in this community and it's important to me as a
6 member of this community to not have the Chief as
7 a representative of the University. My kids are
8 involved in sports and we go to sport tournaments
9 and meets in a lot of surrounding communities, a
10 couple of these schools have an Indian mascot as
11 their school, high school representative.
12 I have noticed that at these meets there
13 are hundreds of people walking across mats with a
14 Native American's face on the floor. I remember
15 reading about Charlene Teters doing an art exhibit
16 where she had a mat with the U of I chief and she
17 had a mat with Abe Lincoln, everybody walked
18 around Abe Lincoln's face, but everybody proceeded
19 to walk across the Native American representative
20 symbol face on the mat.
21 And I think that is emblematic of the
22 damage that happens to people's consciousness
23 about other people, people are just trying to get
24 in the door, they weren't trying to be
PAGE 12
1 disrespectful to another person, but in walking on
2 the mat as a matter of course as a matter of fact
3 sort of thing, it communicates to themselves and
4 other people, mainly Native American people that
5 they, that they can be walked on and not
6 respected. So, I thought that was illustrative of
7 what my concern is and I wanted to share it, since
8 I had an opportunity to do it on camera.
9 MR. CHRIS DREW: Chris Drew, and I am
10 here to speak here for the Uptown Multi-cultural
11 Art Center and artists who asked me to bring a
12 message to the University. The first, Lydia
13 Tripone, for too long a period of time, history
14 has not looked favorably upon the Native American.
15 We had misplaced our trust and we are still paying
16 the price for that mistake, stereotypes throughout
17 the ages, we have unfortunately become an
18 endearing symbol of all that is primitive, behind
19 the times and savage.
20 Our values and beliefs have taken center
21 stage for your ridicule, your flagrant remarks and
22 your total lack of regard for our ways of life as
23 exemplified by your mascot. We respect our elders
24 and honor their place in our lives, the value of
PAGE 13
1 life and cherish it in all forms. You will find
2 very few Native Americans behind bars. We
3 understand the importance of what we do and the
4 profound importance it will have on our children
5 and our children's children.
6 Most people today value only one life
7 form, theirs, and they will walk over anyone who
8 gets in the way to their goal.
9 That begs the question, who is the real
10 primitive person, the savage? When you come to
11 this country with no knowledge of the terrain, who
12 helped you back on your feet. Without us you
13 would never have made it. This is the things you
14 give us. We are human beings who demand respect
15 and not your current form of half-time
16 entertainment.
17 Carlos Cortez. Having usurped the land
18 of the original inhabitants, along with 300 years
19 of genocide, you insult the memory of our elders
20 by making mascots of them. Even Hitler did not do
21 that, congratulations. Carlos Cortez, Coyote's
22 Song.
23 And Robert Waupauhee. Your people
24 constantly use the phrase, we are doing this to
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1 honor you. If that is a true statement, then we
2 ask you, honor our wish and please stop. Our
3 community art center will publicize the struggle
4 to help bring this institution of higher learning
5 to a higher standard of human decency, one that
6 rises above racism. And anybody who has interest
7 can check out our web site at art-teez.org. We do
8 the art of the tee shirt. You can see us on the
9 web. Thank you.
10 MS. DESERE UNTOOB: My name is Desere
11 Untoob and my opinion about the symbol of the
12 Chief Illiniwek symbol is that I really honestly
13 believe that it's a racist symbol. This movement,
14 the Native American movement against racist
15 mascots reminds me of the civil rights movement in
16 the sixties. The Native American people are the
17 last -- minorities in this country are all
18 struggling at this time. But the Native American
19 people are the last, most struggling minority and
20 the most invisible minority in this country.
21 I am an alumni of the University of
22 Illinois and I consider that a privilege to have
23 had a very good education at this University and I
24 believe that one part of my education is, has
PAGE 15
1 been, has given me knowledge to understand that
2 Chief Illiniwek is a racist symbol. I understand
3 that it's difficult for people to see how it is
4 because we are so trained to understand it
5 differently.
6 But if you really look at the
7 implications of this symbol, it's really obviously
8 racist. I have become friends with a lot of
9 Native American people on campus and the
10 protesters who come here and I believe that they
11 have an incredible amount of courage to step out
12 against Chief Illiniwek.
13 It makes me really sad that people can't
14 see that this symbol hurts other people. And that
15 it's more important to certain people to have a
16 symbol that they enjoy partying with than
17 considering the feelings of other people. This is
18 a major University and I know that the reputation
19 of this University is being tarnished. So, I hope
20 that this dialogue is truly a dialogue and I hope
21 that the Board of Trustees decides to do the right
22 thing. It's actually very, very sad and a shame
23 that we don't understand that this needs to be
24 changed. I am done now.
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1 MR. NOBLE GLAUDELL: My name is Noble
2 Glaudell. I represent six people who went to the
3 University of Illinois, one lifetime Illini
4 member, my son had two sons go here, two
5 daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and they
6 all believe in the Chief.
7 I happened to find an orientation
8 bulletin which I looked into and thought it was
9 appropriate, because as you will note, the first
10 thing that you read is, what is it? Proud
11 tradition, the Chief is a proud tradition. He is
12 unique, and as you go through the orientation
13 bulletin, you go to academic excellence, some
14 facts and motto, school colors, athletic teams and
15 you get down to the last thing and it says spirit
16 of the Fighting Illini Chief Illiniwek.
17 Everybody refers to him as a mascot. He
18 is not a mascot. I called my kids back in '89
19 when this was starting up and getting very strong
20 and at the time I questioned them all and they
21 said he is a symbol. And that's what I feel. I
22 went to the University of Illinois Navy Pier, the
23 representative thing that we had up there was what
24 you call caricature and it was a picture similar
PAGE 17
1 to the Cleveland Indians Chief Wauhoo or whatever.
2 It was kind of a copy off of an apple box, which
3 is what they use. That is a caricature.
4 The Chief is not a caricature. He is a
5 spirit, it's hard to imagine it until I came to
6 this school and observed things. The Chief was
7 just something that was going on. And every time
8 I saw him, it's almost like a religious
9 experience. Hair on the neck stands up and it's
10 every time. He does not do anything out of the
11 ordinary. They can say that he does a high kick
12 and everything that is fine. But if there is any
13 Illini Indians around that would like to correct
14 and straighten out things to a certain respect,
15 fine.
16 What else can I say about the Chief? He
17 is a spirit, years ago at the time this was going
18 on, Iowa would not let him participate at a
19 football game at Iowa. And Illinois was the big
20 underdog. At the time and I am sure the coaches
21 used this, after they found out the Chief didn't,
22 wasn't allowed to come onto the field and
23 whatever, they sort of whipped Iowa. They didn't
24 just beat them a little bit. They killed them.
PAGE 18
1 They really did.
2 What else can I say about chief? Every
3 time I have seen him, I was fortunate enough to be
4 at a football game when one of the local
5 establishments went out to the west and bought his
6 regalia. It's not a costume, it's an actual
7 outfit. At the time there was an entourage, I
8 think they were Cherokee Indians and a chief and
9 the presentation was made on the football field at
10 half-time. Unless you were there, there was
11 complete total silence when this was going on.
12 And the Chief could not speak English. Did a
13 prayer for the school in his native language and
14 if you saw what was going on, there is no way the
15 Chief is a caricature. He's a symbol, he's a part
16 of the spirit of Illinois, if the Chief has to go,
17 then I say the trademark has to go and the
18 Fighting Illini has to go. Time is up. Okay.
19 NANCY HENNE: My name is Nancy Henne, I
20 am from Bennett, Iowa, I am a Matisse, which is
21 French and Indian.
22 And I have been coming over here
23 probably testing for the last few years and very
24 upset over this mascot issue because it makes my
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1 children and my grandchildren upset because they
2 think people are making fun of us. I don't agree
3 with the idea of the mascot because he is wearing
4 Sioux regalia, which is a sacred thing to us.
5 It's not to be made fun of, it's part of our
6 religion. The man dances with no moccasins, you
7 won't find any Indian dancing in the arena with no
8 moccasins, that is a mockery of our way of praying
9 to the Creator.
10 Before he had danced with eagle
11 feathers, eagle feathers are for Native Americans,
12 they are not for just anybody. I hear that this
13 University here has ten headdresses that have
14 eagle feathers in them that I have been told are
15 here and should be returned back to the Native
16 American people because each one of those feathers
17 is supposed to be earned, not given.
18 I guess that's all I really want to say.
19 MR. MARK BUTCHER: Mark Butcher. I came
20 here from North Carolina, I am against the idea
21 that Native American heritage is being defiled in
22 the eyes of our people and with little to say, the
23 main thing I would like to say is we hear each
24 other's words and as the words of people who have
PAGE 20
1 the authority to speak more wisely about the issue
2 today are heard, instead of just with ears, I hope
3 their words are heard with the hearts of other
4 people so that the feelings of our people can be
5 understood. It's time for all of us to look at
6 our heritage and to begin to understand the
7 importance of having a mutual respect for each
8 other. That's my prayer and hope today. That's
9 all I have to say.
10 MR. MATT TITTLE: My name is Matt
11 Tittle. I work at the University's Campus Honors
12 Program. I am an alumni of the University and I
13 am still a graduate student of the University as
14 well.
15 First I will start with a reading by a
16 Native American writer, Margaret Thunderburg:
17 "They came for our land for what grew or could be
18 grown on it, for the resources in it and for our
19 clean air and pure water. They stole these things
20 from us, and in taking these, they also stole our
21 free ways and the best of our leaders, killed in
22 battle or assassinated. And now after all that,
23 they have come for our very last of our
24 possessions, now they want our pride, our history,
PAGE 21
1 our spiritual traditions. They want to rewrite
2 and remake these things to claim them for
3 themselves. The lies and thefts just never end."
4 Chief Illiniwek represents an
5 unacceptable symbol of an oppressed people. As
6 long as this fictitious stereotype remains the
7 University's symbol, the inclusiveness of Native
8 American students, faculty and staff will be
9 impossible. Simply put, Native Americans are
10 people, not mascots.
11 America is fortunately outgrowing its
12 white male dominated belittling of minority groups
13 and is learning to respect individual rights. We
14 recognize that representation of any minority
15 group as one dimensional devalues the living
16 members of that group. Therefore, a sharecropping
17 African America, a money hungry Jew, a gun
18 slinging Mexican America or a Kyoto like Chinaman,
19 a Playboy bunny or a Samurai warrior, would all be
20 met with outrage, disgust and legal implications
21 were the University to try to adopt such
22 stereotypes as their symbol.
23 What would happen in Washington if the
24 Redskins were renamed the Blackskins? The result
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1 would be catastrophic because everyone recognizes
2 the racial overtones of such an action. How is it
3 then that we can have a Native American
4 stereotype, a Native American warrior stereotype
5 as our symbol.
6 Some supporters recommend that the
7 problem could be solved with a democratic vote or
8 simply that years of tradition is more important
9 that being politically correct. The argument
10 cannot be about majority opinion or tradition.
11 The majority has already decided that
12 discrimination and racism is morally and legally
13 wrong. Based on years of civil rights
14 legislation, ethnic minorities have been
15 recognized and provided equality under the law.
16 To vote locally on Chief Illiniwek would be a vote
17 on civil rights. Those rights have already been
18 guaranteed and need no further review.
19 In a town where the majority of the
20 citizens were white supremacists, would a vote be
21 allowed to determine if lynchings could resume.
22 Traditions change especially in recent years.
23 Women are no longer traditionally housekeepers any
24 more than men are traditional bread winners.
PAGE 23
1 African Americans are no longer slaves and Native
2 Americans are no longer warriors or sidekicks. To
3 argue that Illiniwek represents tradition is
4 unfounded. Hazing was once traditional but is
5 illegal.
6 If the University and Chief Illiniwek
7 supporters are serious about paying tribute to the
8 Native American heritage of Illinois, then they
9 could do so in a more serious manner. A monument
10 could be erected to the Illinois Indians. Native
11 American cultural studies could be established at
12 the University. A variety of culture awareness
13 events could be established. Scholarships could
14 be started. At a minimum, Illiniwek supporters
15 should each go to the Illinois Historical Survey
16 Library on campus and learn what the Illinois
17 Indians were really like and what happened to
18 them.
19 I did just that and learned that the
20 present day descendents of the Illinois nation
21 number only in the hundreds. They were
22 effectively eliminated by white settlers as were
23 so many Indian nations. Our state and University
24 are named after the Illiniwek Indians. This is
PAGE 24
1 respectful.
2 As an alumni of the University, as an
3 employee of the University, I am embarrassed by
4 the symbol. As an alumni of the University, I
5 refuse to join the Alumni Association until the
6 symbol is eliminated. Thanks.
7 MS. LORI KINGERY: My name is Lori
8 Kingery. I don't know what to say and speaking
9 makes me kind of nervous, I have props here. I am
10 an alumni of the University, that is something at
11 this point I am not proud of. You know, I would
12 like to be proud of that. I know that I wouldn't
13 give any money to the University of Illinois while
14 they had Illiniwek in place. He is not a chief.
15 That's absurd. That is like saying he is the
16 president of the US or something. It's
17 frightening to me that the Board of Trustees would
18 put racism ahead, even if you call it tradition,
19 you know, there are a lot of traditions in this
20 country we are not yet proud of. And it's
21 frightening to me that they would put racism ahead
22 of people.
23 Some of the things I have been noticing
24 recently are the Employees Credit Union had a
PAGE 25
1 symbol that was chief oriented, you can't see it
2 here, but they used to have it on all their little
3 stuff. They have changed it. They have gotten
4 with the program, sort of.
5 This is not very long ago, sometime this
6 year, I believe, there was an ad for a local
7 restaurant that is using chief logos or whatever.
8 The U of I says this stuff doesn't happen, we
9 respect him, whatever.
10 But the most distressing one for me was
11 yesterday's DI. Pro-Chief, anti-Chief, what is in
12 the sports section "Illini Chop Sycamores." It
13 doesn't happen in our community? Yes, it does.
14 And it hurts our community and it hurts our
15 respect of the University of Illinois and it hurts
16 other communities when we go there to play sports
17 and act like idiots like this.
18 And there is a lot more that could be
19 said and I am sure that other people are saying
20 it. But I also think that it's strange that there
21 is a big huge event on campus that has been
22 planned for like two years that happens to be
23 today, so you will see there are no women here
24 pretty much because they are all in the Assembly
PAGE 26
1 Hall. And all the women from the University and
2 local businesses are crowding in the Assembly Hall
3 for a women's conference that's been planned for a
4 really long time. This has been planned for a
5 short amount of time. And of course it's on the
6 same day. If you see the parking for this event,
7 which is right across the street from that, there
8 are like five cars there. It's not seven in the
9 morning, it's ten or something.
10 I got a letter saying that I could send
11 e-mail about this thing. It didn't mention the
12 event whatever. I don't think this is really a
13 democratic process. I think it's a farce. Thank
14 you.
15 MR. LEONARD MALATERE: My name is
16 Leonard Malatere, I am an enrolled member of the
17 Confederated Tribe of the Flat Headed Indian
18 reservation in Northwestern Montana. I would like
19 to come here today and my heart is heavy, because
20 what, because of this ongoing issue of the Chief
21 Illiniwek and other sports organizations who use
22 Native American mascots. And my heart is really
23 heavy. So I would like to come to share what I
24 feel.
PAGE 27
1 And I would like to talk a little bit
2 about Native American, the indigenous peoples of
3 this land spirituality, the indigenous peoples,
4 the original people of this land had a deep, deep
5 spiritual connection with Mother Earth. There was
6 the power of woman who was made in the likeness of
7 God, the Indian woman was made in the likeness of
8 God. They had the power to recreate herself.
9 They had the power to rule. But in knowing this,
10 she had to humble herself to allow the man who was
11 made from nothing to have a chance to walk close
12 to God. And the man, the only way that he could
13 walk close to God was through a vision. And the
14 vision had to be for the good of the people. And
15 in this way in keeping the scope on his vision
16 through the entirety of his life, then man walked
17 close to God.
18 And these people, these indigenous
19 people were very, very spiritual. We can't
20 understand how spiritual they were, because they
21 speak this foreign language, I speak this foreign
22 language, this English, and I think in these
23 foreign terms. So I can't even begin to
24 understand how the people a long, long time ago
PAGE 28
1 really truly felt. But they had a connection with
2 Mother Earth. They had a connection, they had a
3 love affair with Mother Earth.
4 And they knew some truths, they knew the
5 truth that there was a Creator and in order to
6 walk with that Creator, they had to live in
7 balance and harmony with all that Mother Earth had
8 to offer, not abuse her or misuse her, not
9 mistreat her, but to walk in balance and harmony.
10 And they knew this as a truth. And their whole
11 lives they were seekers, great, great seekers of
12 knowledge and wisdom. The whole lives were spent
13 seeking out knowledge and wisdom in order to
14 better live in balance and harmony with the
15 Creator and Mother Earth and all that they had to
16 offer.
17 They were learners. They spent their
18 whole lives learning. And they were also
19 teachers. They were educators. They educated
20 their children to live this life and to understand
21 Mother Nature and all that Mother Earth and all
22 that they had to offer. They were great
23 educators.
24 And their greatest blessing in life was
PAGE 29
1 knowing that they educated their children well to
2 grow up with values and morals, to be virtuous in
3 their hearts to have respect, that's what it was
4 all about was about respect. Respect for Mother
5 Earth, respect for the Creator, respect for one
6 another. And they had no fear of death because
7 they were very spiritual, they had no fear of
8 death, they were brave, strong-hearted people.
9 What they feared, what they feared most
10 in life was to be shamed, to be shamed. And yet
11 we had one of those indigenous peoples live not so
12 far from this great metropolis of Champaign, right
13 here in this area, we are walking upon the ground
14 of the Illini people, these great, great people
15 who were educators and lovers of Mother Earth.
16 They had a love affair with Mother Earth. And
17 right here today we have one of the great
18 institutions, academic institutions of the United
19 States, the University of Illinois at
20 Champaign-Urbana. And they are about teaching for
21 future generations.
22 But I think they are excluding the
23 Native American people out of this when they can
24 make a mockery out of a great people like the
PAGE 30
1 Fighting Illini who were about education
2 themselves. What is going on here? I think it's
3 time that we all grow up and take a look at
4 ourselves because if we can't be at peace within
5 ourselves, we can't be at peace with all that
6 Mother Earth has to offer. Thank you.
7 MS. YVONNE MURRY: My name is Yvonne
8 Murry and this is my daughter, Diana Stimpel. And
9 she is a student here at the University of
10 Illinois. She's of Native American descent as I
11 am. And she is just starting her second year. I
12 am a public interest attorney. I operate in the
13 area of housing law in the city of Chicago but I
14 am here today as a Native American and as a parent
15 of a student here at the University of Illinois to
16 say that, number one, that my gratitude to this
17 school for providing such a wonderful educational
18 opportunity for my daughter. This has been one of
19 the finest educational opportunities that she's
20 had in her life, her short life.
21 Number two, I would like to say I
22 understand and have talked to a number of
23 University of Illinois alumni and understand their
24 concern and their loyalty to the school and can
PAGE 31
1 appreciate how that has gotten tied up with the
2 Chief Illiniwek as a symbol of the school pride.
3 And I am sure there is a great deal of
4 confusion as to why the Chief elicits such a
5 strong response from Indian people. Quite frankly
6 to me, it's the idea of the Chief sometimes is a
7 little bit like nails on the chalk board. And I
8 suppose it would be helpful if I told you why.
9 Number one, the Chief Illiniwek here at
10 the University of Illinois is a young man. And
11 generally Native American chiefs are mature
12 Indians, mature men or women. So there is really
13 sort of this picture doesn't quite fit in terms of
14 his role or his station in Indian culture.
15 Also, the Chief is dressed in
16 traditional Indian attire. Individuals that are
17 dressed in traditional Indian attire walk slowly,
18 dance slowly with dignity, measured steps. And
19 from what I have seen of Chief Illiniwek, his
20 performances at half-time, it's a little bit
21 frantic, at times I thought it was a little bit
22 like Richard Simmons on too much espresso.
23 Number two is that Native American dance
24 is spiritual in nature and when Indians dance,
PAGE 32
1 what they are doing essentially is offering their
2 prayers to God or to the spirits around us. And I
3 don't think that is the spirit or the intent of
4 Chief Illiniwek. It's more in the spirit of
5 school spirit. And team spirit.
6 Also too, I don't think that this school
7 would allow images of African Americans such as we
8 wouldn't have black Sambo dancing at half-time.
9 We wouldn't have a Mexican in a serape and a
10 sombrero dancing at half-time. All of these old
11 stereotypical images, most folks, educated folks
12 would think twice about presenting these images.
13 So it's difficult to come to terms with the idea
14 of a Native American image taken so much out of
15 context and allow that to be one of the symbols of
16 this great school. Racism, stereotypes perpetuate
17 racism.
18 And as we know here at the University of
19 Illinois, racism hurts, cripples and kills people.
20 And so I think it would be important to put an end
21 to this misunderstanding of this imagery and find
22 another symbol, one that is less offensive to a
23 great number of people. Thank you.
24 MR. DANIEL GREEN: Daniel Green, I am a,
PAGE 33
1 I am a member of the Ho-Chunk nation from
2 Wisconsin. And my concern for the logo or mascot
3 issue is the context in which America knows Native
4 Americans and that context is always the same
5 regardless of commercial film, textbook,
6 generational knowledge. It's always the same.
7 It's an archaic image. It's one of primitiveness.
8 It's one of unaccomplishment.
9 And my concern for that is that my
10 children may grow up with the same low
11 self-concept that I did, that my parents did and
12 so on. And that results in a suicide rate that is
13 four times, four times the national average.
14 If you take a look at the socioeconomic
15 statistics in this country, you will find Native
16 America at the bottom, as a rule. That is no
17 accident. And I think that has to do with this
18 context, this bombardment that all of us are
19 subject to have this image that is always the
20 same. I can't think of anything more antithetical
21 for an institution of education or for anyone who
22 has compassion for their fellow beings to
23 perpetuate, to be a part of that that results in
24 such dire consequences.
PAGE 34
1 I appreciate the time. I appreciate the
2 openness. Thanks.
3 MS. NORA LLOYD: My name is Nora Lloyd,
4 and I am with the Women's Leadership Development
5 Group from NAES College in Chicago, which is
6 Native American Educational Services. During the
7 ongoing dispute regarding University of Illinois'
8 use of Chief Illiniwek as their mascot, much has
9 been said about the act of honoring by those in
10 favor, as well as those of us against keeping the
11 Chief. So I think it appropriate to define the
12 word honor for it is not a word to be used
13 lightly.
14 We honor those that have gone before us.
15 Many laying down their very lives to preserve and
16 thus honor their heritage, in other words, their
17 story. For what is more important to a people
18 than their collective story.
19 Indeed, traditionally, every culture has
20 held in highest esteem those community members who
21 courageously honored their communal history and
22 self-identify by making the ultimate sacrifice, as
23 well as our elders to ensure that our nation and
24 our story would continue on unchanged.
PAGE 35
1 With that in mind, I find the argument
2 that Chief Illiniwek is honoring or paying tribute
3 to Native Americans absurd. Firstly, it is
4 documented that the acrobatic gyrations performed
5 by the Chief have no basis in traditional dance
6 and is therefore a charade.
7 Secondly, wearing an eagle headdress
8 considered by many tribes to be sacred while
9 playing Indian, is an affront to those who earned
10 the right to wear an eagle feather.
11 Lastly, using Chief Illiniwek, which is
12 essentially a caricature of the Native American,
13 as a merchandising gimmick is the ultimate insult.
14 What honor is there in misappropriating a people's
15 identity for a profit.
16 Part of what makes us all human is that
17 we are all participating in the cooperative
18 community of humanity. Many nations coming
19 together while proudly retaining our individual
20 stories. I appeal to the Board and the University
21 to end the duplicity and stop trying to rob us of
22 our heritage. From the beginning you have hidden
23 behind your intention to honor Native Americans as
24 educators, many look to you to uphold a higher
PAGE 36
1 standard. You now have the opportunity to
2 practice what you have preached all these years.
3 Show the rest of the state and parts of the
4 country how you define honor by not using a Native
5 American as your mascot. Thank you.
6 DR. FRANK JOHNSON: I am Frank P.
7 Johnson, MD, and I am very pleased to be here
8 today. Before I come forward with some of my
9 thoughts that I sent in the mail a couple of weeks
10 ago, I would like to comment that John Mennega,
11 who is the chief, he is head of the foundation,
12 the educational foundation for the Chief.
13 Marvelous speaker and a marvelous demonstration of
14 reasons to keep the Chief. Also, Jean Edwards did
15 a fine job.
16 My thoughts: While groups of activist
17 Native Americans are likely well intended in their
18 attack on Chief Illiniwek, chronic rage over the
19 white man's dominance and ruthless annihilation of
20 Indian culture fuels their anger and attack,
21 preventing them from appreciating the symbolized
22 honor, bravery and dignity of the Chief. He may
23 not be Indian authentic, but by neutral view, he
24 does not demean Native American heritage. The
PAGE 37
1 Atlanta Braves and many of their fans may be so
2 indicted, but they are much harder to get to than
3 a university.
4 It's more than likely that most Native
5 Americans would not be disturbed by the Chief,
6 although standing up against activist pressure
7 would be difficult. We are not dealing with a
8 popularity contest in determining whether or not
9 to keep, quote, the Chief. But moreover, an
10 effort to establish whether he represents dignity
11 and honor, or is a trivialized mockery. He
12 represents dignity and honor.
13 Unfortunately, many who are more or less
14 neutral regarding the Chief will be swayed by the
15 strong emotions displayed by those who do not
16 favor him. Students and faculty would be the
17 least inclined to identify with the history and
18 tradition of the Chief who symbolizes honor,
19 bravery and dignity. Faculty are by and large
20 academically oriented and students new to the
21 experience of the Chief.
22 The alumni represent the most apt, those
23 who are most apt to identify with his symbolized,
24 positive value. Organized objection is relatively
PAGE 38
1 recent. During the earlier years, his dance and
2 costume were modified by contact with Native
3 Americans regarding these matters. And I think
4 that's what I got to say.
5 MR. ELI SUZUKOVICH: Hello, my name is
6 Eli Suzukovich, I am an alumni of the University
7 of Illinois at Chicago and I am Native American.
8 My mother is Creek and Matee from the Matee
9 Nation, Local 57 of the Daytro First Nations of
10 the Northwest Territories, Fort Providence.
11 And when I was choosing schools, Urbana
12 was not a choice for me because of this mascot.
13 It is offensive and it is sad that an institution
14 that promotes education cares more about a mascot
15 than, you know, the welfare of its students. It
16 shows that they do not care. The University of
17 Illinois at Chicago got rid of its Native American
18 mascot in 1969 because they cared about what their
19 students felt and what they thought. And I think
20 Urbana and Champaign should follow suit.
21 It's a new millennium, it's a new time,
22 the days of vaudeville are dead. It's time to
23 move on. And I think people, the motto, the
24 traditions of this school should not be a mascot,
PAGE 39
1 but should be education and the continuing growth
2 of knowledge and as alumni I am saying that.
3 Thank you.
4 MS. APRIL PIERCE: I am not necessarily
5 pro-Chief or anti-Chief although I have been to
6 events for both of them and I am friends with the
7 Chief and the assistant Chief and all that. But I
8 kind of have a compromise, like an answer to the
9 debate. The pro-Chief side says that the symbol
10 is dignified and it's an honor and all that, but
11 then the anti-Chief side is saying that having a
12 white college student dress as an Indian is
13 degrading.
14 So, keep the symbol but lose the Chief.
15 So the University would still be called the
16 Fighting Illini and have the symbol, but by
17 getting rid of the half-time performance and the
18 costume, then the anti-Chief people, that would go
19 ahead and get rid of everything they are saying
20 about the degrading and the stereotype. And then
21 everyone would be happy. And that's all I have to
22 say.
23 MR. WEYLIN WEBSTER WILLIAMS: My name is
24 Weylin Webster Williams, I am a member of the
PAGE 40
1 Odoah tribe from Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and I
2 Seneca from New York, Tanawana Falls.
3 Two words, Chief Illiniwek, is that
4 right? Chief Illiniwek. First of all, there was
5 no chief among these people hundreds of years ago
6 or as it took place there was no chief upon these
7 people. So how do you create a chief that never
8 existed? Is it publicity, is it imagination, is
9 it a fictional story written up that you guys made
10 months, years ago?
11 Illiniwek, it's an English word
12 probably, a French word, a German word, but you
13 know what I am saying, it's not a word that we
14 would say, it's not spoken in a language. I guess
15 that's why we are here because of little things
16 like that, that I have a question if you guys can
17 answer? Do you guys serve alcohol at your
18 football games? And if that's a question that you
19 cannot answer, it probably is a yes. First off
20 the bat, in our ways, our traditional ways from a
21 hundred years ago, tobacco, yes, it's bad, but you
22 know, it's 2000, alcohol, right off the bat, at
23 pow-wow ceremonies, any place that we have a
24 festival, a feast, a gathering of our people,
PAGE 41
1 there is no alcohol allowed. And that is honor,
2 you know, we come clean, we come in those ways of
3 all four directions.
4 So right off the bat you are coming at
5 us saying that Chief Illiniwek is honoring us. He
6 honors all these people, gives them this great
7 feeling of hope when they are at the game. Only
8 one man can do that, right? But if you think
9 about it, by half-time, you have a couple of beers
10 in you, you are nice and mellow. You look at this
11 guy on the field, you are all like yeah, you know,
12 that's sportsmanship I would look at it.
13 It's not honor. It's not what we call
14 honor I guess or respect, because we don't jump
15 around making fun of other nationalities. All
16 right.
17 I know I have a lot to say, I have to go
18 back downstairs and speak in a minute. Questions,
19 I probably will never get the answer to? Where
20 did Chief Illiniwek, he's not a chief, where did
21 the mascot, who created the mascot? I probably
22 know where they got the idea from. Why has this
23 mascot not been terminated within the past ten or
24 eleven years that this battle has been fought for.
PAGE 42
1 It's just a mascot, it's the year 2000, you know,
2 let times change.
3 Things are changing, things are getting
4 more technology. What we are fighting for is
5 really simple, we are not asking a lot. But
6 people assume -- also I think it's for publicity,
7 for ten years this school has been saying, oh,
8 Chief Illiniwek, you know, you get that in the
9 papers, you got more people looking at your
10 college saying, it's a university, you know. It's
11 just publicity I think. It's just a waste of
12 time, a waste of money that you guys put into this
13 school. Like today we are sitting up on this
14 board, or we are sitting here watching this board,
15 they are sitting there, they are sitting there and
16 they are getting paid to make a decision that they
17 haven't made in the last ten years. That's a nice
18 little chunk of money in their pocket. That's my
19 time. Thank you very much.
20 MS. JANET TUCKER: My name is Janet
21 Tucker. This is my message. The Chief Illiniwek
22 entity should be eliminated because it is racially
23 offensive to Native Americans. No public poll
24 results and no oratorical devices and no
PAGE 43
1 outpouring of sentiment can change the fact that a
2 racially offensive entity has no place in a
3 university that celebrates diversity. Thank you.
4 MR. RONALD JORDAN: My name is Ronald
5 Jordan. I prefer to be called Manapayga, that
6 means warrior. I am a pipe carrier in the Turtle
7 Clan of the Oniack People of the Iroquois Nation.
8 And I speak to schools, many schools, I would like
9 to come down here sometime and maybe speak about
10 my people, because Native American history is not
11 taught in schools, not the way it should be
12 taught. Usually it is either book learning, they
13 never have any Native American experience, the
14 instructors.
15 I was born and raised on a reservation.
16 I am strictly traditional Native American. I
17 spent 40 years working in a white man's world as
18 an engineer. I designed control systems for power
19 plants, both nuclear and fossil. So I come in
20 contact with a lot of people, I traveled the
21 United States extensively, from all the corners,
22 from Washington state down to Florida, from
23 California to Maine. And wherever I go, the white
24 people I come across have virtually no knowledge
PAGE 44
1 of my people. And wherever I go, the first thing
2 I tell them is when I leave here, you are going to
3 be Native American literate, because I believe
4 that I am a Native American ambassador to the
5 white man's world.
6 If you have any questions about my
7 people, ask me, don't accept what you see in the
8 movies. The movies are wrong. Virtually every
9 movie I have ever seen has nothing to do with the
10 Native American people. That's why we come to
11 this Illiniwek issue.
12 I have a lot of protest against some of
13 the terms and symbols and so forth that are used
14 by the white people depicting Native American
15 people. I have nothing against the Blackhawk
16 symbol which is what it is. It's a symbol. And
17 it represents Chief Blackhawk.
18 I have nothing against the term Indians
19 as in the Cleveland Indians. What I am against is
20 the derogatory terminology such as the Washington
21 Redskins, and Atlanta used to have this clown who
22 used to come out and dance, jump around when every
23 home run was hit called Chief Nakahoma. These
24 symbols are exactly what I am against because just
PAGE 45
1 by looking at them it bothers us because it shows
2 that the people who came up with these ideas have
3 absolutely no knowledge of my people. They have
4 no idea, no concept of what our traditions are,
5 what our beliefs are and what our taboos are. And
6 we come back to Illiniwek.
7 I have nothing against using the term
8 and the symbol Illiniwek for the University for
9 the ball teams. What I have is against this
10 mascot. Those eagle feathers he is wearing, I
11 understand somebody gave them to him. They had no
12 right to do that. And being as I am a pipe
13 carrier sort on the religious side of the tribe,
14 these eagle feathers are very, very important
15 religious articles to all tribes, not just mine.
16 All the Native American people. We believe that
17 when the Great Spirit comes down to visit his
18 people, he comes down in the form of an eagle.
19 And when a warrior is killed in combat, he goes up
20 as an eagle. These eagle feathers represent
21 spirits of dead warriors.
22 What I am asking you to do is study
23 Illiniwek, find out where he came from, make sure
24 that this symbol you are using is accurate because
PAGE 46
1 we do not believe it is. And it would be better
2 off if you didn't use it, because it's humiliating
3 to us, humiliating and degrading to us and it
4 makes you look all the more ignorant for using it.
5 Thank you.
6 MR. BOB CRAFT: My name is Bob Craft. I
7 live here in Champaign, Illinois. I would just
8 like to say that I am a graduate of the University
9 of Illinois, class of 1950. I am a lifetime
10 member of the Alumni Association and I proudly
11 support the Chief Illiniwek.
12 I certainly endorse everything that he
13 has done and hope that he will do in the future.
14 I think that I would be proud if I were an
15 American native to be represented by such a first
16 class individual as we have had each and every
17 year. Again, make no bones about it, I fully
18 support Chief Illiniwek for the University of
19 Illinois. Thank you.
20 MR. CARL KRON: My name is Carl Kron. I
21 am a life-time resident of the state of Illinois,
22 born in Normal, raised in Makanda and I now work
23 and live in Naperville, Illinois.
24 I have been concerned with the portrayal
PAGE 47
1 of the Chief Illiniwek for some time. The thing
2 that bothers me the most is the totally inaccurate
3 portrayal of the Chief. The stereotype that the
4 Chief portrays.
5 Simply taking another culture, the
6 Dakota culture and appropriating it in the Illini
7 culture and then having a third misappropriation
8 of having just simply white people then portray an
9 inaccurate portrayal of natives.
10 I have been told that many, many times
11 that the Chief is simply a revered symbol and not
12 a mascot. Fine, that is just words. They say
13 that a mascot doesn't run around and act crazy and
14 do goal posting and such. But however, when the
15 symbol leaves the paper and turns into a three-
16 dimensional form, that is in my view a mascot.
17 Purdue University has a mascot, it is a
18 massive train. I have never seen that train be
19 goal posted. And they call that train their
20 mascot.
21 People say that the symbol is revered
22 and it's not, not portrayed in the stereotypical
23 form. Florida State has this symbol.
24 Well, University of Illinois had the
PAGE 48
1 same portrayal of this running savage. Well, you
2 end up having Chief Illiniwek basketball, tomahawk
3 and everything. I would like to also point out
4 that these are officially licensed products bought
5 at major national retail stores, mainly K-Mart and
6 such. Another slam dunk Illiniwek, officially
7 licensed version. Honored symbol. Tomahawk and
8 menacing look. Another officially licensed
9 version. This is the symbol which the athletic
10 department says is the only, is the official
11 symbol. However, on the back you then have the
12 touchdown Chief Illiniwek, again slam dunk
13 Illiniwek with his Nike shoes.
14 So much for the honored symbol. There
15 is, you know, it's just a lot of it is just
16 semantics, symbol, mascot. The opponents of
17 Illiniwek, you know, say that disparage the
18 people, native people because they might be full
19 blood, however, they build up people who are
20 native ancestry and say, you know, this person who
21 has ancestry supports Illiniwek. This person who
22 lives in Decatur who has native ancestry supports
23 Illiniwek. However, you take a person who is not
24 full blood and they are disparaged.
PAGE 49
1 So, I truly urge the Board of Trustees
2 to retire Chief Illiniwek. Thank you.
3 MS. STEPHANIE CORD: Hello, my name is
4 Stephanie Cord, and I am a student here at the
5 University of Illinois, a junior. I graduated
6 from a small town and grew up there all my life,
7 it's only like 30 miles away from Champaign-Urbana
8 so I have been familiar with the Chief and its
9 debates all my life.
10 The first comment I would like to make
11 is in regards to a comment that was made by the
12 Native American tribe of youth from Chicago. I am
13 personally unaware from being a student here at
14 the U of I of anybody being asked to ignore their
15 identity and hide where their traditions of their
16 families come from.
17 I also find it very disrespectful the
18 way that the anti-Chief people are acting while
19 the support for Chief people are talking. I don't
20 feel personally that Chief Illiniwek is a cartoon.
21 I think it's an honor that can keep the people in
22 Illinois aware of the Indians. When I was a kid I
23 think when I saw Chief Illiniwek, it made me want
24 to learn about Indians and their heritage even
PAGE 50
1 more.
2 As a matter of fact, when my family took
3 me on a vacation, we were in Canada one time and
4 there was an Indian tribe nearby, we were at a
5 restaurant and I heard people talking about it. I
6 wanted to go, because I wanted to see their
7 traditional dances and stuff. So I think it made
8 me want to be educated about the Native American
9 heritage even more so than what I learned in
10 school did. I also don't see why people jump on a
11 bandwagon to get rid of symbols like the rebels or
12 Vikings or Sabers or anything that respectfully
13 honors our past and our heritage.
14 I think that there could be a compromise
15 made between the two groups. The Native American
16 people shouldn't see it as a discrimination, but
17 they should see it as a way to keep their heritage
18 alive. And to make it aware, more people aware of
19 where they come from instead of hiding it.
20 I was unaware also that students here at
21 the U of I have been embarrassed of the Chief. I
22 have attended a lot of football games and
23 basketball games and every time I leave or
24 half-time, people stay around just to see the
PAGE 51
1 Chief. And that's more ironic is when the Chief
2 is done, everybody is so solemn and participates
3 with it, and when is he leaving, everybody is
4 yelling, I love you, Chief. I never see anybody
5 there hollering get rid of the Chief, I hate you
6 Chief, anything like that.
7 So I just feel that it's an honor for
8 our community to keep it, more than just as a
9 tradition. I think that U of I maybe on their own
10 could take the steps to make the dance more
11 authentic more than they have. Thank you.
12 MS. JACQUELINE FRENCH: Jacqueline
13 French. My parents names are Jim and Gwen French,
14 they are both alumni from the University, class of
15 1969, as is my older sister Stephanie French
16 Raquel, who is now married to the former Chief
17 Illiniwek, Steve Raquel. On behalf of my family,
18 we are very much in favor of supporting our
19 mascot, Chief Illiniwek.
20 Growing up, I knew from my parents that
21 the Chief was an honored symbol and they were at
22 the football game present when the first eagle
23 feather headdress was given. So as a current
24 University student, I am a senior graduating this
PAGE 52
1 May, I look forward to being an alum who is proud
2 of my University and proud of my mascot.
3 And some of the arguments which I have
4 just heard puzzled me because I don't want anyone
5 to feel disrespected or having to hide their
6 identity or feel that Chief Illiniwek is anything
7 out to hurt an individual, rather growing up for
8 me, I learned that the Chief was something that
9 was a part of Illinois, part of the midwest, part
10 of American history and I am thankful for what
11 this University has taught me, both before I came
12 to school here and with education that I have
13 received.
14 And I hope that the Board is able to
15 take into consideration how many youth of this
16 state have been affected by the Chief, not only
17 just Native American youth.
18 MR. PAUL YOUTH: My name is Paul Youth.
19 I am a civil service employee at the U of I, I am
20 over here on my lunch half-hour, I have to run
21 back to work. But I thought I would take a moment
22 out and tell you that I am shamed by the
23 continuation of this rather mocking motto. Anyone
24 who can say it's honorific after watching a flying
PAGE 53
1 split on the field, it's ludicrous to imagine that
2 people can be serious on that part.
3 However, if you are going to be
4 recalcitrant and not get rid of this mascot as
5 soon as possible, the least you can do is start a
6 program for actually studying for what Native
7 Americans are suffering now and have suffered in
8 the past.
9 I think that the BOT ought to enroll in
10 the classes. It's very important that you make an
11 educated decision on this as you are exemplars of
12 an education institution of some esteem, though
13 less and less as we read some of the editorials
14 around even the state of Illinois, the Chicago
15 Tribune, the Sun Times, the NCA, the North Central
16 Association Times has a scathing review of this
17 mascot and what it's doing to the people who are
18 the survivors of this, the indigenous peoples here
19 on the US.
20 And Illinois has a particular position
21 in this because it was the most successful of the
22 Indian removal act, I guess. Trail of Tears
23 passed directly through Champaign, Illinois,
24 perhaps some of the profiteers who fed these
PAGE 54
1 people so poorly that most of them died before
2 they got out to the supposed relocation lands. I
3 just read something from the University campus
4 about Kennekuk, the Kickapoo tribe who was the
5 last to leave, his tribe was the last to leave and
6 how he managed to stay in the Danville area for a
7 great length of time after most of the others had
8 been relocated. But this is the kind of history
9 that needs to be taught here. And we don't need
10 this mocking mascot.
11 Thanks for your attention and like I
12 said, get rid of it immediately. But if you don't
13 have the gumption to do that, at least do
14 something about the lack of information, the lack
15 of real analysis, historically accurate analysis
16 of the native situation in the past and presently.
17 Thank you.
18 MS. SUSAN WEAVER: My name is Susan
19 Weaver. I am from Canton, Illinois. My family
20 and I have been on a long journey since first
21 meeting Michael, Mr. Haney, approximately ten to
22 fifteen years ago when he and his supporters came
23 to Dixon Mounds State Museum at Lewiston,
24 Illinois, to protest for the reburial of the
PAGE 55
1 people there.
2 Mr. Haney struck me as honest person
3 with integrity. My son was so impressed with him
4 and his ideals that he came and picketed with Mr.
5 Haney and his supporters. This was a very
6 unpopular thing for Fulton County residents to do,
7 but I was proud of my son's decision. Mr. Haney
8 also told us of another agenda he had which
9 shocked me. He was against Native American
10 Indians being used as sports mascots.
11 Now, my family and I are Lewiston High
12 School alumni and our school mascot is the
13 Lewiston Indians. We are taught to be proud of my
14 mascot. Mr. Haney just had to be wrong with this
15 idea.
16 Well, Mike, we have since been involved
17 with the Native American Fellowship in Peoria,
18 Illinois, and have been enlightened as to the
19 symbolism of the regalia and synchronous of the
20 dance circle. Would not one of us be highly upset
21 and outraged at a young person dressed in Roman
22 Catholic cleric garb or Hasidic rabbi clothing,
23 hat and hairlocks or a white person in black face
24 dancing and prancing around the field or gym
PAGE 56
1 floor. Would any of us like to see these examples
2 hung in effigy, would we want our children seeing
3 these examples and thinking it was okay. I think
4 we would not. My mother and my faith taught me if
5 it hurt someone or made them feel bad about
6 themselves, then we should not do that activity.
7 When you were at Dixon Mounds, you told
8 us we should do the right thing then. And I think
9 we should all do the right thing now by asking the
10 president of the University of Illinois, the
11 Board, the faculty and students to listen to the
12 feelings of the Native American Indians. I also
13 ask our holy Lord and Creator to touch the hearts
14 of all the people who are listening to these
15 entreaties that they may do the right thing also.
16 Thank you.
17 MR. FRANK KRASNOWSKI: My name is Frank
18 Krasnowski. I am an alum, I graduated in 1954. I
19 am a Chief supporter and my comments will be to
20 the faculty who are anti-Chief. I just hope that
21 these individuals who are teaching our young
22 students are not intimidating them by telling them
23 their grades will be lowered if they wear Chief
24 logo on or if they do show pro-Chief sentiments.
PAGE 57
1 I hope this will be handled democratically and
2 there will be no intimidating of individuals
3 because of where they are positioned on the Chief
4 issue.
5 At no time should academics be
6 threatened by one side or the other. So I hope
7 that this issue will not blossom. In fact, the
8 opposition mentioned the North Central, well, if
9 the North Central is to look into anything, they
10 should look into intimidation on the part of the
11 anti-Chief people. Thank you. I appreciate the
12 opportunity to speak.
13 MS. GWEN CARR: My name is Gwen Carr. I
14 am from the Huron Clan of the Cayuga Nation of New
15 York. I am the former political director for
16 American Indians at the Democratic National
17 Committee in Washington. I am currently the
18 political director for American Indians for Gore
19 2000. And I am the first American Indian to be
20 the head of a Democratic party in Arizona.
21 I was born in Cook County Hospital in
22 Chicago, was raised here, educated here and other
23 places, worked for an American Indian organization
24 here in Chicago before I went to Washington. I
PAGE 58
1 worked a lot on the Chief Illiniwek issue and I
2 feel very strongly about it.
3 I believe that to make human beings
4 mascots, whether they are American Indians,
5 whether they are black or they are Hispanic,
6 whether they are Asian, whether they are women,
7 whether they are children is wrong, fundamentally
8 spiritually misguided.
9 I also realize that the University of
10 Illinois makes a lot of money off of Chief
11 Illiniwek. And from my past experiences, that is
12 a driving force in the move to keep this symbol as
13 a symbol for the sports team for the University.
14 I also understand that the University of Illinois
15 feels very strongly about change and how important
16 it is to keep what they have.
17 Unfortunately, what they have is
18 something that is very painful to American Indian
19 people. What they have is something that has been
20 giving them very bad publicity in all the other
21 top ten universities that they play with in
22 sports. I understand that the University of
23 Illinois has been reprimanded by other
24 universities. Has been boycotted and will
PAGE 59
1 probably be continued to be boycotted.
2 This is not good for the students or the
3 programs of the University of Illinois. The
4 University of Illinois and the students who come
5 here need to come to a place that is racism free.
6 It can learn about life and learn their academics
7 and learn what is good and true and real. And the
8 University of Illinois should be an institution
9 that can teach them those things.
10 By retaining Chief Illiniwek the message
11 that you send is that you are indifferent to the
12 hearts and minds of not only American Indian
13 people, but all of the young people who have come
14 out today to say no, this is not something they
15 want in their life. What you are saying by
16 retaining the Chief is that you don't care.
17 And when you don't care, you will not
18 attract the kind of quality of student that you
19 need, that will maintain the academic excellence
20 of the University of Illinois. And when you don't
21 maintain the excellence of the University of
22 Illinois, your endowment shrinks, your student
23 enrollments shrink and you will start to feel the
24 financial pinch. That is what is in store for the
PAGE 60
1 University of Illinois if it resists the change
2 that has been brought upon them.
3 So I urge you to look at the economics
4 of this issue. I urge you to look at the ethics
5 of this issue. And I urge you to look in your
6 heart and think how would you feel if someone
7 disrespected your family, your religious beliefs,
8 your history and your culture. Thank you very
9 much.
10 MR. ANUJ PARIKH: My name is Anuj
11 Parikh. Now, since this is going to be heard by
12 the Board of Trustees, I am deathly afraid, I
13 don't know how many students like to talk on
14 camera, they feel scared, they feel worried and
15 anxious. There are so many feelings and my heart
16 is beating faster than people could think
17 possible. I would love to be down there right now
18 listening to speakers.
19 Now I have been listening to speakers
20 pretty much throughout the afternoon and in the
21 early morning. I have heard both sides, pro-Chief
22 and the anti side and I believe that, it's split
23 down the middle. I think there are a lot of
24 students who think the Chief is a symbol of pride
PAGE 61
1 and a lot of people who believe on the anti side
2 that it is discriminatory and racist sign. That
3 there is so much right with this University but it
4 symbolizes a past where white settlers destroyed a
5 culture that was rich in heritage. And I
6 personally believe that there is no middle ground.
7 And I also believe there is no correct solution.
8 I believe that if you pick one side or
9 the other, you cannot appease both sides. You
10 cannot appease the side of the pro-Chief because
11 they will want to keep that symbol. But you
12 always have the anti side coming up saying it is a
13 racist symbol, it is a symbol of hate,
14 discrimination and then you cannot appease the
15 anti side because the pro side will say this is
16 our symbol. This symbolizes everything this
17 University means has done and is said.
18 Now, the symbol of pride, now if that
19 symbol is gone, I would still be proud to graduate
20 from this University. I would be proud to have an
21 education with the University of Illinois and a
22 diploma. I would love to go to the law school at
23 this University in four years when I graduate.
24 But this symbol to me is not a symbol of pride.
PAGE 62
1 It is a symbol basic and pure.
2 Now, there are symbols like Washington
3 Bullets many years ago decided that the symbol of
4 a bullet was not proper for your organization,
5 they changed it to the Washington Wizards. I
6 think the University must follow this same action.
7 I think that the University should change the name
8 of the mascot.
9 It should get rid of the dance, because
10 I don't think that it enriches the heritage of
11 Native Americans. I think it almost, it surely
12 mocks it, if not, it's very much a racist, because
13 it doesn't teach us about the Native American
14 culture. It has a white gentleman in an Indian
15 outfit dancing around, prancing in front of
16 crowds, trying to get them energized. I don't
17 think that's a way to teach students at this
18 University about Native Americans and about the
19 culture.
20 I think if we want to teach them about
21 the culture of the Native Americans, we must take
22 classes with them, we must take classes, like we
23 are supposed to take classes in western
24 civilization and minority courses provided by the
PAGE 63
1 University of Illinois. I think that if we are to
2 keep on this track, that we just segregate the
3 school further.
4 Eight years ago there was a group of
5 Latin American students who took over the Henry
6 Administration Building protesting problems at
7 LaCosta, about their hierarchy, and about how they
8 had a director and a vice director who was not
9 helping forward their goals. Now that ended
10 extremely unpleasantly when police ordered by the
11 University, ordered by the Board of Trustees,
12 stormed the building with tear gas and illegal
13 stun guns and tasers. I looked this up and I have
14 looked at the law and the law specifically states,
15 the use of tasers and stun guns is illegal,
16 especially by the police. And I believe that
17 actions such as this will continue and I think
18 that if we want to prevent this type of problems
19 occurring at this University, problems like this,
20 we should stop. Thank you.
21 MS. SHERRY NAANES: My name is Sherry
22 Naanes. I have lived in Champaign-Urbana for 39
23 years. And have worked at the U of I for nine
24 years. I have experienced the negative impact of
PAGE 64
1 Chief Illiniwek firsthand. I work in building
2 services and as a steward, I have represented an
3 employee accused of intimidation. The employee
4 was charged with harassing fellow employees about
5 wearing their Chief Illiniwek shirts, jackets and
6 et cetera. After meeting with management, it came
7 out that the Chief supporters had been verbally
8 goading the accused employee. The employee is
9 native and is against the Chief.
10 And I have also had personal experiences
11 with harassment by fellow workers for my stance
12 against the Chief. And have learned my job is
13 easier to deal with if I just keep quiet.
14 I am a janitor for the resident halls
15 and work among many students who support the
16 Chief. I have never spoke a word to any student
17 about the Chief, but I used to play native music
18 while I worked. But it only brought me trouble.
19 This past year, since September of '99,
20 I have ceased to play my native music and it has
21 been one of the most peaceful years I have had
22 since 1990. No more constant vandalism on my run.
23 I find it interesting that they honor and embrace
24 native people, but I can no longer enjoy my music
PAGE 65
1 for I know of its retaliation towards me.
2 Another point I would like to bring up
3 is I have been to a lot of the protests at
4 Memorial Stadium and I will tell you what I saw
5 the first time I went. I saw drunken Illini fans
6 yelling go back where you came from, get a life,
7 get a job. I think the thing that really got me
8 was the people who were most abusive were elderly
9 people wearing chief apparel from head to toe,
10 yelling profanity, spitting at us, shoving and
11 pushing young women and they threw a glass bottle
12 at me.
13 The police had to step in several times
14 and remove these people. And they call this honor
15 and respect towards native people. Actually, a
16 lot of the younger fans were wearing the new U of
17 I logo apparel. And we thank them for not wearing
18 the Chief. The University always says their
19 mascot is honorable, not like the caricature chief
20 Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians. I went to a
21 protest at the Cleveland opener game last year.
22 Cleveland is a big city and after protesting at
23 the U of I, I admit I was a little concerned it
24 might get out of hand. But the fans at Cleveland
PAGE 66
1 were peaceful, no yelling or profanity.
2 And this last October at the homecoming
3 game, we invited some Cleveland people to march
4 with us, I will never forget later that afternoon
5 sitting around talking about the day's events and
6 hearing the people from Cleveland commenting on
7 how abusive the fans were here at the U of I.
8 They were shocked by this.
9 I thank you for hearing us today and
10 pray you are really listening this time. Thank
11 you.
12 MR. BRYAN THALHAMMER: My name is Bryan
13 Thalhammer. I am a graduate student at the
14 University of Illinois. I don't have a very
15 complex message, but I want to speak from the
16 heart that I know that a lot of people are
17 concerned about this and in my present state, some
18 people would say I don't have any reason to be
19 concerned about this because I am the dominant
20 race or whatever you want to call it. I would
21 like to be able to live in peace and recognition
22 with others.
23 Therefore, I would very much encourage
24 the University to seek elsewhere, to find some
PAGE 67
1 other kind of symbol. A few weeks ago there was
2 game where the Orange Crush was apparently
3 celebrating or showing their support of the
4 Illini. And I thought that was kind of
5 interesting because they were just as enthusiastic
6 and so on as any other group and images like this
7 are going to emerge, very strong images.
8 We talk about evolution, we talk about
9 the success and failure of different groups. What
10 is going to happen when this goes away, when the
11 mascot goes away, there is going to be some
12 variation and selection and some really wonderful
13 symbols are going to come to be suggested and they
14 are going to pick one and it's going to be great.
15 So let the old Boy Scout project get a
16 rest. Let's put this away and let's all be adult
17 human beings and look at who else stands to hurt
18 from this symbol. The lady before me said she was
19 very, very hurt by the way people treated her when
20 she was protesting, get a life, go back to where
21 you came from. We don't want to do that. This is
22 the 21st century.
23 MR. MATTHEW PYLES: My name is Matthew
24 Pyles and I come to you today with both a positive
PAGE 68
1 and negative image that I have of this University.
2 Just to start off, I am currently a
3 junior in civil engineering and as I am currently
4 top of that class, and I am also an elected
5 Senator for the next school term so I believe that
6 I do have a very good say in this debate being
7 that I am elected.
8 Getting onto it, I came from a town in
9 southern Illinois that is about 99 percent white,
10 I wanted to get out of there because I wanted to
11 get some diversity, I not only came to this
12 University because we are number one in civil
13 engineering but also I wanted to experience
14 diversity.
15 When I came up here freshman year I was
16 trying to make friends, trying to expand my
17 knowledge of other cultures, I found that it was
18 very tough. It was, it is a very segregated part
19 of this campus. And that is the negative aspect
20 that I have about this whole thing, that you come
21 here and the University advertises that it's a
22 diverse place, you can meet new people. I felt it
23 very hard to do this.
24 But what I did find is that when I
PAGE 69
1 would, the first football game I went to I sat in
2 the student cheering section and I met this guy
3 who was an African American named James and we
4 were both in favor for the Chief, we were both in
5 favor, we love the Illini and since then, we have
6 just been best friends ever since then. And I am
7 just saying this because the anti-Chief people say
8 that this actually makes people racist and it
9 draws people away from being racist. Where in my
10 case, it has actually drawn me closer to other
11 cultures. Thank you.
12 MR. RONALD BLACK: My name is Ronald
13 Black. I am a graduate of the University, class
14 of 1950. I have two sons who have also graduated
15 from the University and are loyal Illini. We are
16 all for the Chief, we all enjoy the Chief, we all
17 appreciate the Chief. We feel that the Chief is
18 an unifying factor amongst the tribe of Illini,
19 which I would define as everyone who has graduated
20 from the University of Illinois. And that
21 includes people of all races and ethnic groups,
22 Asians, Africans, Caucasians and people of all
23 religious persuasions, as well.
24 And in that regard, I see the Chief as
PAGE 70
1 an appropriate symbol of this tribe, if you will,
2 and what could be more appropriate than to name
3 him Chief Illiniwek from the early tribe of
4 Indians who inhabited this country. This
5 particular state. I understand that they were
6 annihilated by other tribes who apparently are the
7 ones who are complaining now about the Chief's
8 presence. They were at Starved Rock, Illinois,
9 they were completely eradicated. So I find it a
10 little interesting that surviving American Indians
11 resent the tribe that they completely eradicated.
12 The tribe does have this symbol and I
13 want to emphasize the word symbol. It is a symbol
14 and it is honored.
15 Now the opponents say that it is not a
16 symbol, they insist on calling it a mascot and
17 they insist that it is demeaning, to which I can
18 only reply that if they insist upon being offended
19 and making a career out of being an injured party,
20 then I don't know what more that I can do for them
21 and I don't know what the trustees can do for them
22 if they are going to serve the loyal alumni of
23 this University, but to ignore any further
24 protestations by them. Thank you.
PAGE 71
1 MR. ARVIN GEE: My name is Arvin Gee, I
2 am a fifth year graduate student here doing an
3 M.D./Ph.D. I didn't even know that there was this
4 opportunity so I thank you for that so I don't
5 really have a prepared statement other than to
6 think that I think the Chief definitely needs to
7 go.
8 When I first came here to school, I
9 didn't know that Chief Illiniwek existed, nor did
10 I really know what the Illini were when I first
11 came to school here five years ago. I went to the
12 first basketball game and I was completely
13 mortified when I saw the student who was playing
&n