Chief Illiniwek was the
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
and official
symbolA symbol is something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention. For example, a red octagon may stand for "STOP". On maps, crossed sabres may indicate a battlefield...
of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was generally portrayed by a
whiteWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
student dressed in
SiouxSioux are a Native American and First Nations people. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many dialects...
regalia and intended to honor the
IlliniwekThe Illinois Confederation, sometimes referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were a group of twelve to thirteen Native American tribes in the upper Mississippi River valley of North America...
, the state's namesake. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
and
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
games, as well as during women's
volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
matches.
For more than two decades, Chief Illiniwek has been the center of a controversy. At the root of the controversy is the view of some Native American groups and others that the symbol/mascot was a misappropriation of indigenous cultural figures and rituals and that it perpetuated stereotypes about Native American peoples. As a result of this controversy, the
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
termed Chief Illiniwek a "hostile or abusive" mascot and image in August 2005 and banned the university from hosting postseason activities as long as it continued to use the mascot and symbol.
Background
Chief Illiniwek and the Chief Illiniwek logo — a stylized front view of a Native American face and headdress — are trademarks of the University of Illinois. Licensed use of the logo by the university has been increasingly restrictive as a result of the ongoing controversy. Chief Illiniwek is not based on an actual American Indian chief, nor did a historical figure with this name ever exist.
Since he performed many of the functions of other schools’ mascots, Chief Illiniwek is generally referred to as the university’s
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
. The use of Chief Illiniwek predates the use of mascots in most sports teams and he was never on the sidelines with the cheerleaders during games, as is typical for university sports mascots. In recent years he did not perform at road games, although this practice was initiated because other Big Ten universities would not permit the character to perform at their home games, citing him as offensive.
During sporting events, the Chief was portrayed by a student selected via audition and wearing traditional Lakota (Sioux) regalia sold to the
University marching bandThe Marching Illini is the marching band of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Marching Illini is a close-knit organization which annually includes approximately 350 University of Illinois students...
by Chief
Frank Fools CrowFrank Fools Crow was a Lakota Sioux spiritual leader, Yuwipi medicine man, and the nephew of Black Elk. He was instrumental in negotiating the end of the insurrection at Wounded Knee in 1973 and the subject of a biography by Thomas Mails.-Life:...
. The portrayal also included a dance of unknown origins, possibly adapted from early 20th century
fancy dancingFancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the War dance...
via the
Boy ScoutsThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
(see History, below). His dance corresponded to the music and lyrics of the "Three in One" performed by the university band, which is an arrangement of three original songs entitled "The March of the Illini," "Hail to the Orange," and "Pride of the Illini." The Chief performed only at major sporting events hosted by the university. The stated intent of the Chief was to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
.
Chief Illiniwek's final official appearance was at an
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketballThe Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall, located on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign....
game on February 21, 2007. The Chief received a long standing ovation, and his departure was described by many in attendance as a very sad day for some Illini fans. In protest and mourning, hundreds of students donned black shirts for the second half of the game. The student portraying the Chief, Dan Maloney, strayed from tradition to return to center court and acknowledge the fans.
History
The origin of Chief Illiniwek dates to 1926, when Ray Dvorak, assistant director of bands at the University of Illinois, conceived the idea of having a Native American
war danceA war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare....
performed during halftime of Illinois football games. The first performance occurred on October 30, 1926 at
Memorial Stadiumthumb|right|300px|Original plan for Memorial Stadium circa 1921. Caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, 1921Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as a memorial to the...
during the halftime of a game against the
University of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America...
. At the conclusion of his performance, Illinwek was met at midfield by a drum major dressed as the University of Pennsylvania's
QuakerThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
mascot, offered a peace pipe, and walked off the field arm in arm. Student Lester Leutwiler, an
Eagle ScoutEagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . Those who attain this rank are called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
, created the original costume and performed the dance based upon his studies as a
Boy ScoutThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. The expression Illiniwek (meaning "the complete human being - the strong, agile human body, and the indomitable human spirit") was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois football team by football coach Bob Zuppke, referring to the Illinois Confederation of Native Americans who historically had inhabited much of present-day
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
.
Another student, A. Webber Borchers, was the only Chief to ride on horseback around the field and solidified the Chief tradition, continuing the performances and soliciting contributions for a permanent costume in 1930. Since then, the costume has been replaced several times, most recently in 1982. The current costume was sold to the University marching band by
Frank Fools CrowFrank Fools Crow was a Lakota Sioux spiritual leader, Yuwipi medicine man, and the nephew of Black Elk. He was instrumental in negotiating the end of the insurrection at Wounded Knee in 1973 and the subject of a biography by Thomas Mails.-Life:...
, chief of the Oglala Sioux (a nation unrelated to the Illiniwek), after being sewn by his wife. The costume contained real
eagleEagles are large birds of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa...
feathers, but because eagle feathers are sacred to Native Americans, and because they came from a
species protectedThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the most wide-ranging of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s...
at that time, the feathers in the headdresses worn by the Chief were replaced with dyed
turkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
feathers after requests of protesters.
Chief Illiniwek's dance was derived from "
Indian LoreAlthough a section on Mythology is no substitute for a section on Native American Religion, Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons, weather, plants, animals, earth, water, sky and fire...
" studies done by university students who had been Boy Scouts. The three- or four-minute dance is based on
fancy danceFancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the War dance...
, a style that originated from the
Plains IndiansThe Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America.-Plains Indians:...
as a means of providing a more secular display than purely sacred dancing, and which is practiced today by many Native Americans at
pow-wowA pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader"....
s. The dance has evolved over time; each student who performs the role of the Chief augments the basic performance with his own movements and steps. Although it is claimed the dance is similar to traditional fancy dance, the Chief's routine includes mid-air splits, which are rarely found in Native fancy dance. Only the music has remained unchanged, with the Chief always performing to the
Three in One. In the 1990s, literature distributed by the University ceased describing the dance as "authentic."
Since 1926 a total of 36 different students have performed the role of the Chief. All but one have been men: one woman, Idelle (Stith) Brooks, served in 1943 due to the shortage of male students during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; she was called "Princess Illiniwek." No student portraying Chief Illiniwek was of American Indian heritage, although Brooks, a journalism major who had grown up on the
Osage ReservationThe Osage Nation is a Native American tribe in the United States that originated about 1200 CE in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. Ancestors lived in the area for thousands of years. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their...
in
Fairfax, OklahomaFairfax is a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,555 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fairfax is located at ....
, was described as an "honorary princess of the Osage Indian tribe".
photo Brooks weighed 90 pounds and her Chief regalia weighed 50.
The actual descendants of the Illiniwek opposed the Chief (see Controversy, below). In May 1995, a WICD reporter interviewed members of the Peoria tribe in Oklahoma, Chief Don Giles said, "We do not have a problem with the mascot.". On January 17, 2007, however, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Tribal Council issued a resolution, asking that the University of Illinois to return the regalia to the family of Frank Fools Crow and cease the use of the Chief Illiniwek mascot. The resolution was delivered to the university's Board of Trustees, UI President B. Joseph White, and Chancellor Richard Herman. The campus' Native American House was authorized by the Oglala Sioux to distribute the resolution to the public.
The Chief appeared at the University's
homecomingHomecoming is the tradition of welcoming back of former residents and alumni of an institution. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America. It usually includes activities for students and alumni, such as sports and culture events and a...
parade and
pep rallyPep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States, Belize and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and College age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of...
until 1991.
Controversy
From the mid-1970s, the Chief was the subject of debate at the University of Illinois. Protests began in October 1989 when
Charlene TetersCharlene Teters is an American artist, educator, and lecturer. Her paintings and art installations have been featured in over 21 major exhibitions, commissions, and collections. She is a member of the Spokane Tribe, and her Spokane name is Slum Tah...
, a graduate student from the
Spokane tribeThe Spokane are a Native American people in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Spokane Indian Reservation is located in eastern Washington, almost entirely in Stevens County, but includes two very small parcels of land and part of the Spokane River in northeastern...
, began protesting the Chief at athletic events after her young son and daughter's reaction to the Chief's dance at a basketball game. Soon, individuals and organizations, some from outside of the University, began to support the Chief's elimination. Some academic departments adopted official stances in favor of retirement of the symbol. External organizations including the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP and pronounced N-double-A-C-P, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the...
, the
National Education AssociationThe National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...
,
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, the
Modern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
, and
Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the AmericasThe Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas is an international organization founded in 1981 devoted to the study of the indigenous languages of North, Central, and South America....
also took positions in favor of retiring the Chief. In November 1989, the
Illinois state legislatureThe Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818...
passed a resolution in support of the Chief.
Student and alumni organizations, such as the
Honor the Chief Society and
Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation, are dedicated to explaining and preserving the tradition of Chief Illiniwek. The Students for the Chief group formed in 1990. Among the national Native American organizations which called for the retirement of the symbol were the
National Congress of American IndiansThe National Congress of American Indians is a Native American organization based in the United States. It was founded in 1944 and its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.The organization, which has 250 member tribes, monitors U.S...
and the
National Indian Education AssociationThe National Indian Education Association is the only national nonprofit exclusive to education issues for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian) people of the United States.The NIEA is a membership-based organization...
. At the Urbana-Champaign campus, the Native American House, the American Indian Studies program, and the Native American student organizations all called for its retirement.
Those in favor of retiring the Chief contended that the Chief misappropriates Native American culture and perpetuates harmful racial or ethnic stereotypes. They argued that this obstructed the creation of a diverse and tolerant learning community, harmed the reputation of the University, and promoted an inaccurate image of Native Americans. Those in support of the Chief claimed that he was a revered symbol representing not only a proud people but the great spirit of a great university.
A 1995 ruling by the
United States Department of EducationThe United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
found that the Chief did not violate Native American students'
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
. Also in 1995, the state legislature approved a bill making the Chief the "official symbol" of the University, but Governor
Jim EdgarJames Edgar is an American politician who was the Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999 and Illinois Secretary of State before that.Edgar was born in Vinita, Oklahoma and was raised in Charleston, Illinois...
's amendatory veto allowed the decision to remain with the University.
As a result of student activism calling for support for Native American students and an American Indian Studies program, the Urbana-Champaign campus established the Native American House and American Indian Studies program in 2003. As reported in the University of Illinois student databook in 2003, students of Native American descent made up 0.2% of the overall student population, and only 0.1% of the faculty are of Native American origin. This is in contrast with the national average of 0.4%. However, it should be noted that the state of Illinois has a lower than average proportion of Native Americans. Some Illiniwek were forcibly removed from the state of Illinois during the time of
Indian removalIndian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
. The forced relocation of Indian nations between 1818 and 1833 made way for non-Indians to claim the territory as the state of Illinois. Due to government-sponsored assimilation programs, many Native people moved in the 1950s to large urban areas such as
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
. Founded in 1953, Chicago's American Indian Center is the oldest
urban IndianUrban Indians are Native Americans in the United States who live in urban areas. Urban Indians represent a growing proportion of the Native population in the United States...
center in the country, and there is a substantial American Indian population in Chicago.
In 2006, the University Board of Trustees opted to study the issue and passed a resolution calling for "a consensus conclusion to the matter of Chief Illiniwek." Many on both sides of the issue find this resolution problematic, given that former trustee Roger Plummer determined that a compromise on the issue was not possible. Thus far, the Board of Trustees has not consulted on the matter with the faculty of the American Indian Studies Program.
In the past few years, opinion polls on the subject have not been much help in defining Native American opinion on the subject. In 2002, a Peter Harris Research Group poll of those who declared Native American ethnicity on a U.S. census showed that 81% of Native Americans support the use of Indian nicknames in high school and college sports, and 83% of Native Americans support the use of Indian mascots and symbols in professional sports. However, the methods and results of this poll have been disputed. A separate poll conducted by the Native-run newspaper
Indian Country TodayIndian Country Today is a weekly U.S. newspaper which describes itself as "The Nations' Leading American Indian News Source." Focusing on news of interest to the Native American community, the newspaper was founded in 1981 by Tim Giago in Rapid City, South Dakota. In 1988, it was purchased by Four...
in 2001 reported that 81% of those polled "indicated use of American Indian names, symbols and mascots are predominantly offensive and deeply disparaging to Native Americans."
A non-binding student referendum on Chief Illiniwek was conducted in March 2004. Of the approximately one-third of the student body who cast ballots, 69% of the voters favored retention of the Chief. Faculty have tended to be critical of the Chief. Another non-binding student referendum on Chief Illiniwek was conducted in February 2008. Of the appoximately 23% of the student body who cast ballots, 79% (7,718) voted to show support for Chief Illiniwek, while 21% (2,052) voted to not show support.
Position of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
The
Peoria Tribe of Indians of OklahomaThe Peoria people are a Native American tribe, which today are represented by the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.-History:...
are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy, having been relocated to Oklahoma in the 19th century. The position of the tribal leadership has evolved over the years. In a television interview with WICD-TV in 1995, Don Giles, then Chief of the Peoria Tribe, said, "To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We are proud. We're proud that the University of Illinois, the flagship university of the state, a seat of learning, is drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us?" Supporting Chief Giles was another tribal elder, Ron Froman, who stated that the protesters "don't speak for all Native Americans, and certainly not us."
Ron Froman was later elected Chief, by which time his views on the Chief Illiniwek symbol had changed. His opinions shifted following meetings with American Indian students attending the University. In April 2000, the tribal council, with Chief Froman's support, passed by the margin of 3 to 2 a resolution requesting "the leadership of the University of Illinois to recognize the demeaning nature of the characterization of Chief Illiniwek, and cease use of this mascots [sic]". Froman said, "I don't know what the origination was, or what the reason was for the university to create Chief Illiniwek. I don't think it was to honor us, because, hell, they ran our (butts) out of Illinois." This puts Chief Illiniwek in a position different from that of the mascots of other schools such as
Florida State UniversityFlorida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, whose Native American mascots are not opposed by the leadership of the corresponding tribes. In 2005, a new Chief, John P. Froman, when asked his position by the NCAA, indicated that "the Chief was not representative of our tribe and culture, mainly because the costume is Sioux." In 2006, in response to a widely published column by journalist
George WillGeorge Frederick Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist, journalist, and author.-Education and early career:Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Frederick L. Will and Louise Hendrickson Will...
in support of the symbol's use, he wrote a letter reiterating the Peoria Tribe's opposition to the symbol and decrying that the "University of Illinois has ignored the tribe’s request for nearly five years."
NCAA involvement
In August 2005, the
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
, the primary governing board for intercollegiate athletics, instituted a ban on schools that use what they call "hostile and abusive American Indian nicknames" from hosting postseason games, beginning February 2006. The University of Illinois was among the 18 schools subject to the ban which, among other things, prohibited the University from hosting NCAA-sponsored tournaments. The ban was soon expanded to include
Bowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system designed to give the top two teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision an opportunity to compete in a "national championship game"...
-sponsored bowl games, starting with the 2006 football season. The university appealed the ban in October on the grounds that it violates NCAA bylaws and violated institutional autonomy.
On November 11, 2005, the NCAA, stating that it had "found no new information relative to the mascot, known as ‘Chief Illiniwek’ or the logo mark used by some athletics teams that depicts a Native American in feathered headdress," upheld the ban on the University of Illinois. However, it did allow the continued use of the nicknames "Illini" and "
Fighting IlliniThe Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....
" by the University because they are based on the name of the state and not of Native American descent. The university appealed the decision again on January 30, 2006, mere days before the deadline. While the NCAA Executive Committee granted an extension to April 28, the committee's next meeting, to other schools affected by the ban, the University of Illinois requested a longer stay until May 15, the end of the current semester. The Executive Committee ignored the request for a longer stay and denied the university's second appeal while indicating that no further appeals would be entertained.
The
Chicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by the Sun-Times Media Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2009.-History:...
reported on August 31, 2006 that Chief Illiniwek would "no longer be an official university symbol" after the 2006–2007 basketball season. The paper also reported that the ownership of the Chief would be transitioned to an organization called the "Council of Chiefs" and made up of a number of people who have previously portrayed Chief Illiniwek. The next day, however, the University disputed the
Sun-Times report. University sources confirmed that several former Chiefs had met with University officials to discuss preserving the symbol's tradition but stated that the so-called "Council of Chiefs" did not exist as a formally organized group. A University spokesman stated that "no decisions have been made" regarding the symbol's fate.
Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini
Some have incorrectly linked Chief Illiniwek with the nickname Fighting Illini. Though many assume that both are based on Illinois'
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
traditions, the name "Illini" was first associated with the school by the student newspaper, which changed its name to
The Illini in the late 19th century. (The paper is now called
The Daily IlliniThe Daily Illini is an independent, student-run newspaper published for the community of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newspaper was founded in 1871...
.) The addition of the adjective "fighting" originated about five years before the appearance of Chief Illiniwek as a tribute to Illinois soldiers killed in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. Similarly, the on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, was named in honor of these fallen soldiers. As stated above, the NCAA has exempted the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" from its ban on "hostile and abusive" Native American imagery, leading many to believe that these names will continue to be used regardless of the fate of Chief Illiniwek. The state of Illinois is named for the
Illinois RiverThe Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water...
, which was itself named by
French explorersHabitants is the name used to refer to both the French settlers and the inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along the two shores of the St. Lawrence Gulf and River in what is the present-day Province of Quebec in Canada...
after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a
consortiumA consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
of Algonquian tribes that thrived in the area. The word
Illiniwek means "those who speak in the ordinary way," although it has often been mistranslated as "tribe of superior men."
Retiring Chief Illiniwek
On February 16 2007, Lawrence Eppley, chair of the board of trustees issued a unilateral ruling retiring Chief Illiniwek. Chief Illiniwek's last performance, by the final Chief, Dan Maloney of
Galesburg, IllinoisGalesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 33,706. It is the county seat of Knox County....
, took place on February 21, 2007 at the last men's home basketball game of the 2006–2007 regular season against Michigan, in
Assembly HallAssembly Hall is a large dome-shaped indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, and is part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...
.
On March 13, 2007, the University of Illinois board of trustees voted to retire Illiniwek's name, image and regalia.
After retirement
In April 2008, the "Council of Chiefs", a group of previous Chief Illiniwek performers, named a student to portray the chief, although this portrayal is not sanctioned or endorsed by the University.
An event called "Students for Chief Illiniwek Presents: The Next Dance," happened on November 15, 2008 following the football game against Ohio State University, in the
Assembly HallAssembly Hall is a large dome-shaped indoor arena located in Champaign, Illinois, and is part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...
.
"We want to do this event on a very exciting day for Illini fans and we want it to be a complement to that day's game," said Roberto Martell Jr., president of Students for Chief Illiniwek and junior in LAS. An open letter was sent forth by the Native American House encouraging the entire University community to speak out against the event.
On October 4, 2009, The University of Illinois returned the Chief Illiniwek regalia to the Oglala Lakota. The media was denied entry to this event, which was called a "private function" by U of I Associate Director of Athletics Dana Brenner. The U of I did not offer a public statement about the return.
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