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Osceola was a prominent Seminole, but just don't call him 'chief'





The Seminole Tribe has lent its name to the Florida State University Seminoles but just don't refer to the school's popular mascot Osceola as a "chief."

Osceola was a prominent warrior who resisted the U.S military in the early 1800s and was taken as a prisoner of war. But he was never a leader of the tribe, or a "micco" in the Seminole language.

“He should be called ‘Osceola,’ and we’ve tried real hard to get that out there,” Donna McHugh, FSU assistant vice president for university relations, told The Tallahassee Democrat.

Some fans and alumni, however, call Osceola a "chief." And ESPN SportsNation and EA Sports recently referred to the mascot as "chief" in an online poll in which Osceola and his horse, Renegade, were chosen as the best symbol in college football.

The Seminole Tribe hasn't taken an official stand on the use of "chief." But the tribe has worked with FSU to make the Osceola mascot more accurate and respectful of tribal culture.

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FSU symbol's name is simply Osceola (The Tallahassee Democrat

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