"The NCAA was correct to reject the University's appeal to be taken off the list of schools with "hostile and abusive" mascots. Using this definition, the Chief must be considered hostile. The fact that the Native American House, the Department of American Indian Studies, and the Peoria tribe - the only remaining members of the confederation that included the Illini - all oppose the Chief proves that it is a hostile symbol. Why else would they all be opposed to it?

According to Cheyenne poet and writer Suzan Shown Harjo, stereotypes such as the Chief are unfavorable to the well-being of native people because they "break the spirit" of American Indians. She argues that this is detrimental because it is "easier to take property and labor from broken people" and "easier to force them to accept new religions, languages, national allegiances." In other words, stereotypes make it easier to subjugate American Indians.

The Chief can also be considered an abusive use of Native American imagery. The symbol characterizes Indians stereotypically. It reinforces the idea of the noble savage, a brave, stoic warrior. Here on campus, the Native American House claims that the symbol is inappropriate because stereotypes "confine the perception of an entire people to a limited and narrow existence.""

Get the Story:
Matt Simmons: Chief Illiniwek: NCAA should be applauded (The Daily Illini 5/5)

Relevant Links:
Chief Illiniwek, University of Illinois - http://www.uiuc.edu/dialogue/index.html
Retire the Chief - http://www.retirethechief.org

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