Showing posts with label Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Show all posts

Friday, October 16, 2015

Breaking News: Lawsuit filed to stop nickname vote; UND says it won't affect process

Just when you think it can't get any weirder, now a lawsuit has been filed to stop the nickname vote. No idea how this turns out, but UND is going ahead with the vote.

Per the Grand Forks Herald:
A lawsuit was filed in district court in Grand Forks Thursday in an attempt to stop UND's upcoming nickname vote, though for now the vote will continue as planned.

Plaintiffs Lavonne Alberts, Rich Becker and William Le Caine requested in their complaint that the vote be stopped and held only when UND or North Dakota is on the ballot and members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes are allowed to participate.

UND spokesman Peter Johnson said in an email that the school is aware of what had been filed.

"The university intends to move forward with the nickname vote as planned beginning on Oct. 19 unless otherwise directed by the courts," he said.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

AP - Tribe quiet as ND voters scrap Fighting Sioux name

I have been reading the articles relating to the Fighting Sioux nickname this morning and this article jumped out at me, written by James MacPherson and Dave Kolpack of the Fargo Forum, this article has been all over the internet today and made the Miami Herald as well.
Miami Herald - Walter Twinn, 69, who still speaks his native Dakota language, said there are only a handful of people on the reservation strongly opposed to the name. He cited a 1969 pipe ceremony held on the UND campus when a delegation from Standing Rock and at least one representative from Spirit Lake reportedly bestowed to the university permanent rights to use the nickname.

"UND has helped a lot of Indian students," Twinn said. "It should stay." The Standing Rock reservation straddles the North and South Dakota border and is home to about 9,000 people, more than half of whom live in North Dakota. Elections for tribal chairman typically draw up to 2,000 voters.

Lawrence Miller, an employee at the tribe's casino, said it makes little sense to change the name. However, he acknowledges that he didn't vote. "What are they going to call themselves, the Holsteins? Or the Cow Milkers?" Miller said.

Bubba Standing Bear, who spent Wednesday herding cows on horseback, said he would have approved the measure had he been old enough to vote. "To me it really doesn't matter. It's just a name," he said. "I didn't think it was disrespectful. I know a lot of the old people might not like it but I think it is respectful."

Erich Longie, an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake tribe who has been an outspoken critic against the nickname, said UND T-shirts and other giveaways encouraged about two-thirds of 1,100 members of that tribe to endorse the name in 2009. He said only 70 people on the Spirit Lake reservation voted Tuesday.

"They didn't have all the free stuff to pass out," Longie said. "It shows you how much people cared about the vote."
This article brings up an issue – first what is the new nickname and what is it going to be – second, who is going to decide what the new nickname is going to be?

The name is in the process of eventually being changed, however, the road to finding an acceptable replacement for the Fighting Sioux nickname is going to be the next fight – we need to get out front and make sure that the school isn’t stuck with an unacceptable and downright stupid replacement nickname. We don’t need to think very hard to imagine some of the unacceptable replacement names that some have already suggested.

I am of the belief that nothing we select is ever going to be as good as the Fighting Sioux nickname that is the brutal reality. I have always said that if UND can’t be the Fighting Sioux than it should simply be “North Dakota” I know there are some that don’t like that idea. There are many UND fans that like that idea as well.

For the sake of the Alumni and school – the powers that be better tread lightly in selecting the next nickname for the University of North Dakota, there needs to be a cooling off period and the law that the state reverted back to says that no name will be selected until 2015.

There should be no hurry to select a new nickname – there are going to be some; especially the ones that wanted UND to lose the Fighting Sioux nickname in the first place, these people will try and push UND into selecting a new nickname immediately and they are going to push the issue. Those people need to have the brakes put on them. Any nickname going forward should have the input of the UND Alumni, current students and Faculty and Staff.

If not we are going to end up with a stupid nickname like “Sundogs” and we can’t let that happen.
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Tuesday, May 01, 2012

EDIT - Fargo federal judge tosses out Sioux lawsuit to preserve UND nickname

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athl...
University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athletic logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This news just broke this evening. Today the U.S. District court in Fargo threw the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe lawsuit against the NCAA. [Click to view the ruling]
GRAND FORKS - U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson has granted the NCAA’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, a major setback to American Indians trying to preserve the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname.

Erickson filed his order late Tuesday in Fargo, where lawyers for the two sides had presented oral arguments on April 19.

The Spirit Lake Sioux, through its Committee for Understanding and Respect, had asked the court to overturn the NCAA’s 2005 policy discouraging the use of American Indian names and imagery by member schools.

They also argued that they and the Standing Rock Sioux were “indispensable parties” to the 2007 agreement settling a lawsuit brought by UND against the athletics association, and that they have been wrongly excluded from negotiations concerning that settlement.

In his 23-page opinion, Erickson held that none of the several counts brought by the committee state a sufficient legal claim under federal law.

“Many of the counts are entirely without merit, and the ones that could potentially have been meritorious could only have properly been brought by UND,” Erickson wrote.
You can read it for yourself right here.

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Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Spirit Lake Sioux to sue the NCAA.

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athl...Image via WikipediaNorth Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockeyImage via WikipediaIt appears that the Spirit Lake Sioux is going to sue the NCAA. s/t to the SayAnythingBlog.com. I have no idea where this is going to go, but do you see the irony in this? The NCAA has said that the Fighting Sioux nickname is hostile and abusive and is now going to be sued by the same people that they are supposed to be protecting.
FORT TOTTEN, ND – Speaking at the tribal headquarters of the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation, attorney Reed Soderstrom announced a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging copyright infringement and civil rights violations. The Sioux tribe supports the University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname and logo, but the NCAA has deemed them to be “hostile and abusive.”

“Today, the Spirit Lake Tribe of Indians, by and through its Committee of Understanding and Respect, and Archie Fool Bear, individually, and as Representative of more than 1004 Petitioners of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association in direct response to their attempt to take away and prevent the North Dakota Sioux Indians from giving their name forever to the University of North Dakota,” said Soderstrom in prepared remarks.

Soderstrom alleges that the NCAA has violated “the religious and first amendment rights of the Dakota Sioux tribes.” He also alleged a double standard in the application of the NCAA’s policy against the use of Native American names and imagery.
The first charge we are going to hear from the Anti-Fighting Sioux nickname foes is that Englestad Arena is behind this action and financing it. I have yet to see any evidence to back this up to date.



20111101 Lawsuit Fact Sheet Final
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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Is there a counter law suit coming?

North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockeyImage via Wikipedia
This was on Rob Port's sayanything blog last night... As soon as I hear something I will post it up on the blog...
Update: I’m being told by nickname supporters that tribal interests are considering a lawsuit against the NCAA, so it would appear as though this issue is far from over though I don’t have any details to add at this point.
Look I get it, the Fighting Sioux nickname is gone, I think most of us knew that before the ND delegation went to the NCAA office in Indiana. That being said, I would love to see this issue finally go to a court of law where some pasty white judge could tell a person of Native American decent (that supports the Fighting Sioux nickname) that they can’t have to the Fighting Sioux nickname because it’s hostile and abusive. How would they respond to that?

Friday, August 12, 2011

More from the meeting...

Big Sky Conference logoImage via WikipediaThis from the Grand Forks Herald, these are some of the sanctions from the NCAA that will happen to UND if they don't change the Fighting Sioux nickname. It's pretty apparent what needs to happen.
Dalrymple noted sanctions against UND, which are to go into effect Monday, would prohibit the university from hosting a post-season tournament and athletes would not be allowed to wear the logo in post-season play.

“Since then, I have learned sanctions also will result in (NCAA) member schools refusing to schedule games with UND, and the university will not be allowed to join the Big Sky Conference.”

“I have come to the conclusion that the consequences of not retiring the Sioux logo are too great.”

He said he will ask legislative leaders to introduce legislation during the special session scheduled for November to delegate the issue back to the state board. He said that legislation “probably will also require an affirmative vote by directors of the UND Alumni Association.” One concession that the NCAA leaders made, according to Dalrymple, was that “they will communicate with members that UND is in the process of retiring the logo, and they should take that into account in any scheduling decisions they make.”
This what Representative Al Carlson from Fargo had to say on the matter today.
Also, “Rep. Carlson, disappointed as he is, said he will not do anything to harm the university.”

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