"Spleens were vented overtime last week when the Board of Higher Education voted to drop the Fighting Sioux logo at UND. The rage was instantaneous.

Contributors to the UND Foundation threatened to cut off donations. The Engelstad family, donors of the beautiful $100 million Ralph Engelstad Arena, claimed that a solemn promise had been broken. Students protested. The Spirit Lake Sioux, after voting for the logo, felt left in the lurch. Mad was on the loose.

With this much hurt and anger, it was natural that Sioux logo supporters would cast about to identify the villains involved in this dastardly deed. Because it made the critical decision, the Board of Higher Education took most of the heat. The attack was rhetorical because there were too many to hang. Armchair quarterbacking ran amok.

But blame went beyond the board. As a result of local and national agitation over American Indian logos in college sports, the NCAA responded by forcing the issue. The edict was to get tribal approval or drop the name. "

Get the Story:
COLUMNIST LLOYD OMDAHL: Loss of Fighting Sioux nickname inevitable (The Grand Forks Herald 4/19)
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Also Today:
Sudie Hofmann, St. Cloud, Minn., column: Nickname fans willfully ignore complexities (The Grand Forks Herald 4/19)
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Rich Becker, Grand Forks, column: Path forward still begins with Standing Rock (The Grand Forks Herald 4/19)
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North Dakota Supreme Court Decision:
Davidson v. North Dakota (April 8, 2010)

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