UND Fighting Sioux nickname petition to go before Tribal Council

This could be good news for the Fighting Sioux Nickname. I also think that is a good first step in keeping the Fighting Sioux nickname.

A petition seeking to put UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname on the ballot at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation is up before the Tribal Council today, according to a nickname supporter.

Archie Fool Bear, one of several supporters who gathered 1,004 signatures for the petition, said he believes the council reaction will be “pretty positive.” With that many signatures, he said, he wouldn’t think the council would deny voters their say.

In the last tribal election in September, voter turnout was about 1,900.

The tribe’s approval is necessary if UND is to keep the nickname as a condition of a settlement with the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames offensive. The other North Dakota Sioux tribe, the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, has approved the nickname after a 67 percent “yes” vote last year.

Nickname opponents there are seeking another vote to undo the approval.

At Standing Rock, nickname opponents are arguing the nickname isn’t worth the cost of a special election. No general election is scheduled this year.

Fool Bear said the tribe has money for a special election, and he feels the issue is important to voters.

The nickname is a topic of discussion for another government body this week, the State Board of Higher Education, which is meeting Thursday at Mayville State University. Board members have indicated they would’ve wanted to retire the nickname much earlier because UND wants to apply to join the Summit League athletic conference as soon as possible to enhance its Division I transition.

The league refuses to accept a membership application until the nickname issue is resolved.

The board took the position it did last fall because there had been no move at Standing Rock. But board members held off on a decision because of a lawsuit by nickname supporters at Spirit Lake, which went to the Supreme Court late last month. The court hasn’t issued an opinion yet.
[FARGO FISH WRAPPER]