Lucy Ganje
November 16, 2001
Board of Higher Education Meeting, UND Campus

On December 21, 2000, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education mandated that "for the good of the state" the University of North Dakota would retain its "Fighting Sioux" name and logo. Board members at the time said the debate was officially over.

But that decision did not end the debate. Many would argue that the debate has evolved into a conflict that has local, regional, national and international ramifications for UND. In the almost 12 months since that decision was made there have been hundreds of articles, opinion pieces, letters to editors, and broadcasts regarding this issue. One of the most respected national publications in academia, the Chronicle of Higher Education has reported on this issue three times, once with a cover story titled, "What's in a Name: Bigotry or $100 Million?" Numerous media organizations, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, NCAA News, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Denver Post, Chicago's Daily Southtown, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Canada's daily National Post, Lincoln Journal Star, Sports Illustrated, Minnesota Monthly, Salon.com, Plastic.com, DiversityInc.com, ESPN "Outside the Lines," Fox news, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, National Public Radio and many smaller daily papers in the Midwest have covered the debate as a continuing issue. In addition, all major American Indian newspapers, radio and television broadcasts have reported negatively on the conflict at UND.

The National Indian Education Association and the North Dakota Indian Education Association issued resolutions requesting that UND drop the name immediately. The Minnesota Indian Education Association passed a resolution "cautioning" Native American students from attending UND until such time as the name is changed. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has issued a statement on the use of Native American images and nicknames as sports symbols saying their use is not a trivial matter and does damage to both Native and nonNative students. The Civil Rights Commission said the use of stereotypical images of Native Americans by educational institutions has the potential to create a racially hostile educational environment. Racist posters, and tee shirts depicting American Indian men in sexual positions with buffalo have been distributed on campus. UND is under investigation by the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights. A neighboring institution has requested UND not wear the "Indian-head" logo when we play on their campus. UND faculty and programs report loss of outside funding and research opportunities because of the name. All this within the past year.

For the good of the state -- change the name.

Lucy Ganje for the Campus Committee for Human Rights