All Hail Chief Illiniwek!
This past week, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has decided to cease the appearance and dance of Chief Illiniwek at Illini sporting events. This Wednesday, Feb. 21, will be the last time that Chief Illiniwek will dance. It will be a sad day and a day of mourning. I will be proudly wearing my Chief shirt with black under. I know that it will also be Ash Wednesday and worry not for I will be preparing myself for the Lenten season. However, I will also HONOR Chief Illiniwek.
Chief Illiniwek, you will be greatl missed.
As for the University of Illinois…you can eat my shorts! Hell if you’re going to get ANY of my money now. Chief Illiniwek FOREVER!!!!
DISCLAIMER: Just so you know, I took MANY courses that have dealt with the issue of Chief Illiniwek. I have listened and read a lot about both sides of the issue. After over 5 courses, I concluded that Chief Illiniwek is NOT offensive. Charlene Teters started this contraversy because her childern were “ashamed” of Chief Illiniwek. HOWEVER, she admits it on one of the videos (which was anti-chief) I watched on SOC 249, that she had no affliation or pride to her tribe. And yet, she had the nerve to come up with Native American pride when she does not have pride for her own ethnicity. Is that bullshit or what?
Hail to the Chief…It’s an Illini Thing
I am a 86 grad of U of I and feel it is a shame that a 81 year tradition is going to die on Wednesday. All I can say is the people complaining never spent a halftime in memorial stadium watching the chief walk in…it was always respectful…. what next… perhaps the long chain of relatives of George Washington will suddenly be offended that he is wearing a powdered wig and ask that he be removed from the dollar bill.
What a bunch of crap… I cannot believe that the University has a group of desicion makers that have no spine….
I too will have my Illini gear on…
Long Live the chief!!!
No Chief —- No $$$$$; instead will donate to the brave Fighting Sioux at UND.
a vocal minority, many barely connected to the UIUC, SUCCEDED in depriving the majority of students, faculty, townspeople and alumni of the right to a honored and 81 year long half time entertainment which is legal and not dangerous on the basis of “being offended”. You can argue for or anti chief all day long but the bottom line is his performance was legal and not dangerous and it was a performance (not obligated to be authentic or non offensive to someone). The group that wielded so much power disproportionate to their numbers were and are empowered by their perceived “victim status”. This in itself is bogus on 2 levels 1. As individuals there is no documentation that those who say they were offended are or ever were victimized any more than anyone in this world is. There are fat, ugly dumb, socially inept, short men, tall women, etc that are treated badly not hired, promoted, “included”, respected etc.etc. .. Every day. Its life.2.. Yes the Native Americans of 100 years ago suffered greatly and wrongly at the hands of the government and general population. The Native Americans of today ARE NOT THEIR ANCESTORS. They did not suffer the way their ancestors did yet they want to parlay their ancestor’s sufferings into pity, guilt ridden special treatment today. The Native American culture was of 100+ years ago truly had honor, dignity, courage, integrity and fierce independence; I do not see that in the Native Americans of today. With their incessant whining, self pitying, and use of the guilt of whites that were not even born when this country destroyed the Native American culture, they have become what the Native Americans of 100+ years ago use to call “fort Indians”( The ones who gave up their independence and hung around the forts begging.) While they fight paper tigers like Illiniwek, and in the process, (mostly because of dishonest unethical tactics), bring down enormous bad feelings towards Native Americans, they build casinos in their sacred lands like grand Marais and despoil them. HOW DO THEY JUSTIFY DISPOILING THEIR SACRED LANDS TO MAKE A FEW BUCKS? WHERE IS THE COMMITMENT TO NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE IN THAT? There is rampant violence and alcoholism on their reservations and now gambling problems. Yes, the white culture destroyed the Native American culture as it existed including their economy, interpersonal mores and duties, and their values. But we cannot go back in time and it is going to be up to Native American as individuals if they want to live with the dignity, honor independence integrity that they profess to hold so dear. The truth is the Native Americans have already lost the qualities (see above) that so distinguished their culture in the past and all they can do now is to try and LOOK as though they have not been so diminished. So they fight hollow fights like Illiniwek using degrading tactics (if you can’t beat the white man join him) and hope no one will notice. So this token victory perhaps will be celebrated at the next pow- wow by doing non- WCK (white college kid) authentic sacred dances. The sad thing is, the sacred dances mean nothing without the honor, dignity, courage, spiritual; life, fierce independence and integrity that went with it. We saw little enough of any of that during the past 20 years from the anti-chief crowd. Crazy Horse, Kicking Bear, Chief Joseph, Cochise, Red Cloud must be turning over in their graves!