So is Standing Rock going to vote as well?

This is the first step in the right direction if UND wants to keep the Fighting Sioux name. I think this is something that should have been started a long time agon and it still might be a little to late.

I also wonder if the Tribal Council Chairman Ron "His Horse Thunder" will let his tribal members vote or not. In the past he has been against it. If RHT doesn't let them have a referendum, what is he afraid of? I would say let the member of the Standing Rock Tribe vote. If after both tribe vote and the results show that the two North Dakota Sioux tribes are against the Fighting Sioux name then it's time to move on and change the name. I don't see any reason why UND needs to rush and change the name without first exhausting all steps in the process.

Sioux tribes begin nickname campaigns
Spirit Lake, Standing Rock reservations to hold referendums
Supporters of the Fighting Sioux nickname on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation are seeking a referendum on the issue, similar to the one being held in a few weeks on the Spirit Lake reservation Antoine American Horse Jr. said he and some other veterans from Standing Rock will be asking the Tribal Council to let tribal members decide whether they support the nickname.

A longtime supporter of the nickname, he’s probably best known as a participant in a tribal flag ceremony at Ralph Engelstad Arena in October.

On the Spirit Lake reservation, nickname opponents are gearing up to win hearts and minds, convinced that, if they could tell voters their side of the story, they could turn the public against the nickname.

Referendums are key because, under a legal settlement with the NCAA, UND needs the blessings of both namesake tribes in North Dakota to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname.

The NCAA opposes the use of American Indian nicknames because it considers them derogatory. Nickname opponents agree, calling the nickname racist.

Tribal councils on both reservations have generally been hostile or ambivalent about the nickname. The Standing Rock Tribal Council has not only opposed the nickname, it also voted to ban a referendum in June.

But tribal members have been more open to the nickname’s use. In the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, nickname supporters, backed by a survey, are confident they’ll win a substantial majority.

Opponents have essentially conceded as much, but they cautioned voters to heed the experience of tribal members that have actually attended UND and felt the sting of racism.