"The Peoria Tribe and other American Indians have the right to decide whether they are hurt by the Chief, not the pro-Chief supporters. And they have every right to be hurt. Their culture and history is being belittled by distorting their heritage in creating a symbol that takes part in insignificant sports games that have no association to any American Indian culture.
Imagine what it feels like to have people who have taken everything from you simplify your culture on top of it. Imagine that they take your culture and portray your history stereotypically for something as trivial as a game. The fact is the Chief hurts the Peoria Tribe and other Indians because it takes away their cultural pride, and it hurts people like me because I see good people not giving a damn about it."
Get the Story:Matt Simmons: Why the Chief must go (The Daily Illini 9/15) Relevant Links:
Chief Illiniwek, University of Illinois - http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/index.html
Retire the Chief - http://www.retirethechief.org Related Stories:
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Column: Chief Illiniwek mascot inappropriate (12/02)
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Editorial: Stop 'pussyfooting' on Chief Illiniwek (11/17)
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'Chief' school opens Native American House (02/07)
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