N.D. higher ed board chancellor willing to extend UND nickname deadline

There is no need to be in such a hurry, good solid long term agreements are not made in haste. Per the article UND has until February to win the approval of both Sioux tribes in the state.

BISMARCK — The chancellor of the North Dakota University System says he’s willing to grant the Standing Rock Sioux tribe 30 more days to consider UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

Saturday is the deadline for Standing Rock leaders to weigh in on the debate. Some tribal members want to put the issue to a vote.

Chancellor William Goetz said he talked with tribal Chairman Charles Murphy on Wednesday. He said the Tribal Council is not scheduled to meet until the week of Nov. 9.

The state board has said it will drop the Sioux nickname and logo unless it gets long-term agreements from Sioux tribes.

Murphy told KNOX radio of Grand Forks earlier that he knows some people support a tribal vote on the issue but said it’s not clear if or when that will happen.

Under terms of a settlement with the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames offensive, UND has until February to win the approval of both Sioux tribes in the state. The Spirit Lake tribe has approved the nickname, but the Standing Rock tribe has not.