Archie Fool Bear, a member of tribal government, was on the Scott Hennen show last week and shed some light on the situation that puts to rest the lie that the nickname and logo are “hostile and abusive” as well as the idea that the tribe is responsible for last week’s hasty decision:

Click here to listen to the podcast in MP3 format.

In an article in the Star Tribune which no longer appears online, reporter Katherine Kersten pointed out that most of the people “offended” by the logo are not Native Americans. She also had a very telling quote by Mr. Fool Bear:

Members of the Standing Rock judicial committee visited UND early in 2006 to assess the situation for themselves. “We spoke to everyone, from students on the street to people at the gas station,” says Fool Bear. “Not one gave us any evidence of racism. We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ”

“Our young people go there to get an education,” says Fool Bear. “When they arrive, they’re asked, ‘What do you think of the logo?’ If they have no problem with it, they are badgered and harassed for four years.”

I still maintain that this whole “hostile and abusive” nonsense is simply a pet project by a bunch of busybody liberals. The tribe plans to go ahead with its petitions to get a vote on support of the logo before November if possible. I hope we can still turn this around and save our University’s logo and nickname!

By the way, please take a few minutes to (politely) voice your opinions to the unelected members of the State Board of Higher Education for this ludicrous decision:

President Richie Smith: richard.e.smith.2@ndus.edu
Vice President Jon Backes: jon.backes@ndus.edu
Sue Andrews: sue.andrews@ndus.edu
Duaine Espegard: duaine.espegard@ndus.edu
Rachelle Hadland: rachelle.hadland@ndus.edu
Michael Haugen: michael.haugen@ndus.edu
Grant Shaft: grant.shaft@ndus.edu
Claus Lembke: claus.lembke@ndus.edu

When you write to Claus Lembke you really should thank him for his motion to reconsider last week. He actually gets it, apparently. Sadly, none of these other folks would second his motion and it went nowhere. Instead they went ahead and chose to retire the logo against the will of the tribes. Oh, how I wish we could vote (most of) these people off the SBHE, but they’re all appointed!

I am writing to strongly denounce the historical and recent affronts to the Native American community at Dartmouth and to offer the support of the athletics department in playing a leading role to combat racial, ethnic and sexist ignorance and intolerance on our campus.

At the same time, I must offer a sincere apology to the Native American community, and the Dartmouth community as a whole, for an event that will understandably offend and hurt people within our community. In late December, we will host a men’s ice hockey tournament that includes the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. UND is one of 14 colleges or universities that continue to maintain a Native American name and image to represent their athletic teams.

Let me state clearly that UND’s position is offensive and wrong. When we scheduled UND nearly two years ago to participate in our tournament, we did so without considering their team’s nickname and symbol. Perhaps we should have, but I deeply regret that we didn’t.

On Friday, as I was traveling on College business, a member of my staff met with the Native American Council to discuss our hockey tournament and to offer our apology for the pain that it will cause. In the days and weeks ahead, I will develop a specific and continuing plan to address issues of respect and tolerance within the athletic department as well as considering a policy for scheduling athletic contests against institutions that support offensive nicknames and symbols.

This is my response, a draft of which was sent to The Dartmouth:

I was surprised by Josie Harper’s letter apologizing for the “pain” caused by hosting the UND Fighting Sioux at their hockey tournament. I had no idea that Native Americans were present in such great numbers at Dartmouth and were so easily offended by our state’s tribute to the brave spirit of the Sioux warriors.

Right now North Dakota is under attack by a select few out-of-state advocates of political correctness. They claim our logo, drawn by a Native American artist, is “hostile and abusive.” I invite them to actually visit us sometime. Our highway signs and Highway Patrol cars have Native American figures on them. The hospital near my house has an area devoted to burning sage and other traditional Native American healing practices. UND itself hosts dozens of programs for Native Americans including the INMED program, which trains one fifth of the nation’s Indian physicians, as well as cultural programs, eight publications, and seven student organizations.

The only oppression I’ve heard of is of Native students who don’t mind the nickname. They’re treated like the Midwest’s version of an “Uncle Tom” by the PC police. Archie Fool Bear, chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe judicial committee, says his tribe’s leadership doesn’t represent the vast majority of tribal members. He said, “We went to a hockey game, and they talked about the courage and integrity of the Sioux people. We looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we don’t even honor our Sioux warriors or veterans like this on the reservation.’ ” How do the politically correct crowd honor this tribal elder? By trying to oust him from the tribal government.

We’d be just fine if a bunch of out of state PC liberals would quit trying to tell us how things need to be out here in flyover country. Perhaps if our team showed up named the UND Brave White Men we’d be more welcome. Then again, every single special interest riding Josie Harper’s politically correct bandwagon would then have a unifying reason to apologize for North Dakota’s painful presence. In the mean time, the only place we’ll apply real pain is on the ice, where it belongs…and actually exists.

Political correctness is insane. Heaven forbid we should offend anybody, anywhere, at any time! That is, of course, they happen to be white, heterosexual, Christian, male, or any combination thereof. Those are oppressive qualities and should be attacked at any opportunity.

This post was originally written on November 23rd, 2006. It resulted in my response being printed on the Dartmouth Review website (although I don’t know if it ever made it to print).

They did, however, put the cherry on top by portraying those hostile, abusive European imperialists on the sign below the 1804. Notice the absence of Sakakawea (or Sacajawea, or Sagagawea, or Sacagawea…heck, they change the pronunciation every time the white people finally learn it) on this sign, despite her important contribution to their journey as a guide.

So, the next time you want to take that scenic jaunt along the river between Bismarck and Washburn, or head down to the sandbox that used to be Beaver Bay before the Army Corps of Engineers laid waste to it, make sure you look away from these hostile, abusive signs along the way. Perhaps we can get the roads banned from the postseason.

If you’re new to the ‘blog, I don’t hold a prejudice against the indigenous peoples of North Dakota, in fact the opposite is very true. I do, however, think the whole UND Fighting Sioux controversy is ridiculous and am merely illustrating what happens when you take their argument to its bitter end. Oh, and the DaVinci Code is blasphemy. But you don’t see Christians out firebombing embassies or anything.

Members of various Sioux tribes have voiced their support for the nickname and logo, with one tribe even putting it to a popular vote in which the logo won. Of course, the liberal activists blamed the victory on “uneducated” Native Americans, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Condescension, anyone? This is what happens when “people of color” don’t understand the do-goodyness of busybody liberals…the way these people are looked down upon by said liberals accidentally sneaks out.

I have even seen a photo on the news from when the school first adopted the Fighting Sioux nickname. Members of the tribe were present, proudly, adorned in ceremonial clothing. It was an honorable event.

While the reservations face epidemic suicide, meth and alcohol abuse, and sexually transmitted disease problems, they instead resort to fighting amongst themselves about a nickname and logo which most like. Besides, I’m willing to bet that most people who don’t like the UND Fighting Sioux nickname and are fighting for its demise have never set foot on a reservation. This is just more Political Correctness run amok. You want a target then, folks? Just let us make a few subtle tweaks to our mascot and then you can let your hatred fly:

This is my (poorly drawn due to haste) rendition of the logo for the UND Valiant White Men. We’re proud of our heritage and our perseverence as we, men and women of German, Norwegian, Slavic, and other descent made a home for ourselves here on the rugged Plains. To show our respect for such a hard-working people, we should honor them by choosing our team name/logo/mascot in their honor. We could even commission an authentic white artist to design the logo; after all, it was a Native American artist who designed the “hostile and abusive” logo used by UND.

Of course, nothing could be more “hostile” and “abusive” to the PC crowd than a white guy. See, for so long it’s only been the Native American crowd, or at least vocal activists fighting in their name, who have been granted the ability to take potshots at the University (which thought it was making a gesture of respect by choosing the name Fighting Sioux). This way, EVERY minority can slap on their Victim uniform, march in unison, and rally against the evil aggressor, the oppressive white heterosexual Christian male. Join the fun, gang! It’s open season!

Personally, I agree with the people interviewed on the evening news a long time ago who said “let’s keep the nickname and the logo, and who cares if we host postseason play.” Tell the NCAA to get bent, kick butt in hockey, and fight for what we believe in.

And while we’re on the subject, maybe you would like to click here and see the DOZENS of programs that “hostile” and “abusive” University offers for Native American students. Recruitment programs. Retention programs. Incentives. Organizations. Publications. I have a friend who’s 100% Native American who went through the INMED program at UND, which helped him tremendously due to his race and afforded him opportunities he’d never have had otherwise. So let’s not make this the case of the Evil Big Bad University vs. the Poor Victimized Native Community.

If the name and logo go, let’s pull the plug on these special favors with it (in the name of equality and race neutrality, of course)! Sure, they do a lot of good and are worthy programs, but we don’t dare put the interests of one race ahead of any others…if that’s what we’re told we’re doing and must stop with the Fighting Sioux nickname, then certainly we can’t do it with something more important like higher education!

Thanks to Claus Lembke for being the sole voice of reason on the Board in this matter. Sadly, nobody else had the sack to stand up and second his motion to reconsider.

Update: Oh yeah…got called a “racist” already before 8am, by somebody IN MINNESOTA! This is NOT about race. It’s about a bunch of “Politically Correct” liberals with an agenda. I’ve got friends and family of a variety of races and I don’t think of them as “this ethnic group or that.” We’re all just people…and yes, we’re all different! That’s what makes it interesting. Didn’t Martin Luther King, Jr. have a dream about a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character? As long as race continues to be an industry, a tool of intimidation by self-proclaimed “compassionate” liberals, Dr. King’s dream is a distant reality…if not altogether fantasy.