Opinion

Steve Fool Bear: Revealing the truth about 'Fighting Sioux' name

Thursday, March 10, 2011

"About three years ago, I wrote a letter that helped spark a different perspective on the logo issue, a perspective that resonated across the state and much of the nation (“Sioux: Embrace culture,” Page D2, March 23, 2008).

The letter used the logo issue as a way to reveal and address the hypocrisy and corruption that now plagues Native America. I revealed the unpopular facts of this issue: The permission already given by the Standing Rock governing body in 1969, the ceremony that cannot be undone, the evidence showing a two-thirds majority in support — evidence that has been proven true time and time again — and the hypocrisy of Indian tribes’ own athletic names and logos.

After all, if the nicknames are so derogatory, then why do we use them ourselves? Why does the anti-logo group not acknowledge this fact?

Common sense has brought this issue to where it is now. Since that letter this fight has taken many different directions, and now it lies in front of the North Dakota Senate.

What many senators do not realize is that the fight waged in favor of the logo by American Indians is a fight for our freedoms: our right to speak, our right to addresses grievances with the government, our right to live free from oppression, all the violations that have been bestowed on our Indian peoples due to this issue by our own governing bodies.

Our voices have been silenced by a few for far too long, and that’s what we seek to end. If we have not an opinion, then we have not freedom. We have not a majority voice and then have not a democracy."

Get the Story:
Represent the majority — Indian and non-Indian (The Grand Forks Herald 3/10)
pwpwd

Other Opinions:
Bruce Conmy: UND’s proud nickname is worth fighting for (The Grand Forks Herald 3/10)
Shaun Puppe: Evidence refutes claims of nickname’s ill-effects (The Grand Forks Herald 3/10)