North Dakota's Open Letter to NCAA about use of Native Names

[WeRQ4U]

I am an alumni, and I know that we had been talking about this before. It's a fairly well-written letter, with some decent points. Let me know what you think.

*Snip* ----------------------------

Is it the use of Indian names, images, and/or mascots to which you are opposed ? If it is all of the above, which logos, images, and mascots do you indict by your announcement? Is it only certain ones? As I said, a very respected Indian artist designed and created a logo for the University. The logo is not unlike those found on United States coins and North Dakota highway patrol cars and highway signs. So we can’t imagine that the use of this image is “abusive” or “hostile” in any sense of these words.

Is it the use of the names of tribes that you find hostile and abusive?

Not long ago I took a trip to make a proposal to establish an epidemiological program to support American Indian health throughout the Upper Great Plains . On this trip I left a state called North Dakota . (Dakota is one of the names the indigenous people of this region actually call themselves.) I flew over South Dakota , crossing the Sioux River several times, and finally landed in Sioux City , Iowa , just south of Sioux Falls , South Dakota . The airplane in which I traveled that day was called a Cheyenne.

I think you should find my confusion here understandable, since obviously if we were to call our teams “ The Dakotans,” we would actually be in more direct violation of what apparently you are trying to establish as a rule, even though this is the name of our state. This situation, of course, is not unlike that faced by our sister institution in Illinois.
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Full Letter
http://www.und.edu/president/html/statements/NCAAletter.html

[WeRQ4U]

1. This was posted here accidentally.

It's in GD now. SO disregard here, but go here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4373459&mesg_id=4373459