The Seminole Tribe continues to support the Florida State University despite controversy over the use of Indian images in sports.

FSU adopted the Seminoles mascot in 1974. The tribe endorsed the name in the early 1990s and officially supported it in 2005 after the NCAA asked member schools to justify their use of Indian imagery.

“We Seminoles embrace that mascot,” Chief James Billie told The New York Times. “They honor us.”

Billie doesn't care that Indian activists and major tribal organizations oppose Indian mascots. He says the Seminole people have a right to determine who uses the name even though it originated with university students.

“We tell them to go back to their own territory,” Billie told the paper. “Leave us alone. This is my place, my home.”

The school started using a representation of "Chief Osceola" in 1978. The image was recently denigrated on ESPN.

YouTube: Skit featuring a representation of "Chief Osceola," the Florida State University mascot

Get the Story:
Amid Rising Discord Over Indian Images, F.S.U. Has Harmony (The New York Times 10/24)

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