The story of this "tomb" mounted in the yard of a neighbor's house, close to my house.
http://www.myspace.com/illiniwek
"Chief Illiniwek" will no longer perform in conjunction with the Marching Illlini at UIUC football and basketball events, thus designating the end of a long university tradition embedded in athletic and marching band events. An identity crises for many associated with the U?
Chief Illiniwek, a fantasy Indian chief representing the university "mascot" (from 1926 until 2007 he was always personified by a white student in full Indian regalia, his/her war dance having precious little to do with any specific American Indian tradition) was deemed a demeaning racial masquerade by the tribal council of the Peoria tribe of Indians (the immediate descendents of the Illiniwek Indians in Oklahoma), and a long line of other organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Education Association, Amnesty International, MLA, Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas, National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Education Asociation, and the American Psychological Association.
The US Dept of Education in 1995 found that the Chief did not violate Native Am students' civil rights.
The State of Illinois also approved of it, enabling the U to make the Chief the official symbol of the U.
As opposed to their position, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) banned UIUC from hosting NCAA championship events on the Urbana-Champaign campus.
Eventually, at the beginning of 2007, UIUC resolved to retire the Chief; in consequence of it, the U became immediately elligible to host post-season NCAA championship events.
As a result of student activism, the Native American House was founded in 2002, and a Committee of Native American Programs was formed in 2003. Indicative of the urgency and relevance of issues relating to the debate, the NAH homepage has a Mascot News tab on its homepage.
http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/
Official News Release of the University:
http://www.uillinois.edu/chief/ChiefRelease2-16-07.pdf
The position of the Native American House at UIUC:
http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/mascot-news.htm
"We understand that many people feel attached to the tradition of "chief illiniwek," but we live in a different era than when the 'chief' was initiated.
The practice of racial masquerade now belongs to the past. To continue racial masquerade is to perpetuate misinformation and a stereotype of Indian people. Racial stereotypes go against the goals of a great university by miseducating the university community. Stereotypes often feel hurtful to the people whose culture they misrepresent.
American Indian peoples have spoken out for many years about the harmful effects of the University of Illinois’s mascot. The Native American House and American Indian Studies Program are pleased that future generations will not be subjected to the caricature and to the performance of 'chief illiniwek,' which we see as a caricature and misrepresentation of actual Indian people."
The American Psychological Association called for the immediate retirement of Indian sports mascots as they promote inaccurate images, stereotypes and negatively affect the self-esteem of young Indianshttp://www.apa.org/releases/AmIndRes101805.html
http://www.honorthechief.org/events.html
The News-Gazette (which published a book available at university book stores on the Chief Illiniwek tradition):
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2006/11/11/chiefs_gather_for_80th_anniversary_of_ui_symbol
