Nickname prompts two petitions

Mar 06, 2009 (Grand Forks Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- DKTH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Both sides of the UND Fighting Sioux nickname debate in the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation are putting together petitions.

Supporters of the nickname decided Friday to seek a referendum on the issue during the general election in May, said Eunice Davidson, on the pro-nickname side.

A longtime opponent of the nickname, Erich Longie, said he, too, has a petition, which would ask the tribal council to rescind an old resolution that offered lukewarm support for the nickname.

For several weeks, Tribal Council members were said to be mulling a referendum but have not yet taken action. A petition for a referendum would force their hand.

UND needs the support of Spirit Lake and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to retain the nickname, which the NCAA considers "hostile and abusive" to the Sioux people. Nickname supporters at Standing Rock also are working to retain the nickname.

Spirit Lake nickname supporters appear confident that they will not only succeed in getting the issue on the ballot, but that their side would win. This would require the council to issue a resolution of support for the nickname.

Supporters had done a survey a few years ago to decide whether they should push for a referendum, and of the 800 or so surveyed, some 90 percent showed support for the nickname, said Davidson and John Chaske, the leader among nickname supporters.

All they need to gather now is 300 signatures, or 20 percent of the last voter turnout, Davidson said.

"We just want to make sure people have a voice on the reservation," she said.

Longie said he feels that supporters are working on behalf of wealthy, powerful outside interests, by which he means the Engelstad family foundation. If outside interests can circumvent the Tribal Council with impunity, he reasoned, that undermines tribal sovereignty.

The family of Ralph Engelstad built the UND hockey arena that now bears his name and thousands of the Indian head logos that nickname opponents consider racist and supporters contend are a symbol of pride.

Davidson said it's her group that's taken the initiative to work with Ralph Engelstad Arena and not the other way around. She also said she and other nickname supporters aren't getting paid.

She and other supporters say they support the nickname because such a connection to UND helps with educational opportunities for tribal members.

Nickname opponents, including Longie, have said in the past that tribal members who haven't attended UND don't understand what it's like to have the nickname.

Longie said, though, that he's actually glad nickname supporters are seeking a referendum, taking the pressure off the Tribal Council and avoiding more animosity over the nickname.

Longie's petition takes a different tack.

Instead of going directly to the people to seek an opinion on the nickname, it goes to elected leaders.

In 2000, the Tribal Council had issued a resolution that said it supports the nickname only insofar as something positive came out of it.

Longie said his position is there's been nothing positive and he wants the council to rescind the resolution. The continuing controversy and hard feelings between Spirit Lake nickname supporters and opponents, he said, shows that only bad things have come out.

The question is what would happen if both sides get their way? It's conceivable the Tribal Council would rescind its earlier resolution supporting the nickname and issue a resolution of stronger support.

And there's another angle to this issue. Several Tribal Council members will be running for re-election at the same time.

To see more of the Grand Forks Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.grandforks.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index