Here’s a quote from their website: ” The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stands by its right to self-government as a sovereign nation, which includes taking a government-to-government stance with the states and federal government entities.” Okay, so why do THEY call themselves “Sioux” then? They’re obviously sovereign; they proudly declare that right. So quit calling yourselves “Sioux” and you’ve got nothing to complain about.
You want to talk about a quick and easy way to defuse this situation, this is it. First of all, the name “Sioux” obviously is too hurtful to be used to describe the tribe and should be discontinued immediately. Then, once that long-overdue change has been adopted by the tribes, they can cease worrying about the UND “Fighting Sioux” nickname; it will no longer apply to them. Let the healing begin.
This whole issue is a bunch of nonsense by a belligerent few with a chip on their shoulder, taking on a life of its own by the actions of a bunch of politically correct crusaders within the NCAA. Level heads must prevail.
That said, I direct you to this open letter to the NCAA by UND President Charles Kupchella, brought to my attention by my friend Shari. It sheds a lot of light on the situation.
So far UND has shown the only prudence in this situation. I hear on the radio that the NCAA doesn’t even talk directly to UND, simply issuing press releases to announce its decisions. I’ve also heard that Ron His-Horse-Is-Thunder, who on occasion claims to be a descendent of Sitting Bull, has dismissed members of tribal government who have declared support for the UND “Fighting Sioux” moniker. That type of behavior, in my humble opinion, constitutes both “hostile” and “abusive” in every sense of the words.