You have to wonder if the Standing Rock Tribal Council will ever have a vote on the issue, it's not looking good. I guess those 1,004 signatures don't mean a thing if the Standing Rock Tribal Council don't allow their members to have a vote.
Grand Forks Herald --- The Standing Rock Tribal Council decided again Tuesday to delay action on petitions that had been submitted by tribal supporters of UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.
The petitions, bearing 1,004 signatures — about half the number of people who voted in the last tribal election — ask that the council allow the people of Standing Rock to have a voice in determining whether the university may keep the 80-year-old nickname.
A spokeswoman in Chairman Charles Murphy’s office said the council “tabled” the issue as it organized the agenda for its scheduled two-day meeting, but she did not know whether council members intended to bring the matter up again later.
Archie Fool Bear, a leader of the petition drive, said the council didn’t formally table the petition but delayed action again “because the tribe did not receive official notice that the State Board (of Higher Education) had acted on the name.”
The vote was 6-6 on a motion to affirm the council’s April 6 decision not to discuss the nickname issue until the State Board “finalized” its decision to retire the nickname. Vice Chairman Mike Faith broke the tie, Fool Bear said.
Faith and other council members did not return calls Tuesday. Chairman Murphy was traveling because of a death in the family and did not participate in the meeting.
“I don’t know how much more quibbling we can have on this,” Fool Bear said. “I guess we’ll have to get a copy of the letter the board sent” to Kelley.
The only reason it was 6-6, requiring a tie breaker decision (apparently not a "vote" by Mike Faith), was because two people opposing the issue were absent. It was 8-6 opposed previously. The issue really comes down to whether the SR Council wants to voice its decision to approve. The next opportunity is the scheduled June Tribal council meeting. There is no obligation on their part to make a decision not to approve....or listen to their people! The retirement stays in effect.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Tribal council is going to just let this play out and not act on it. They keep kicking the can down the road.
ReplyDeleteToday's news: (UND President) Kelley outlines transition from Fighting Sioux nickname
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