Fresno St. Alum wrote:I don't get why they didn't need permission. Even if they're in Okla now, wouldn't they still care. I looked up illini and got nothing. I looked up illiniwek and got all of this stuff you posted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiniwek" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Illini is like a shorter version of the name?
If that version is accurate--it does appear to be quite thorough--the tribe only objected to the use of the chief and called his clothing Sioux. They apparently didn't object to the use of the word Illini, which they pretty much abandoned anyway.
Which begs the question, if UND were to change their nickname to "Fighting Dakotas" and get rid of Native American symbols, would that change anything? If it does, it would be ironic, because "Sioux" is a French term for a group of tribes whose name was anglicized into "Dakota." Given that Illini is ok for Illinois, then would Dakotan be ok for North Dakota?
I happen to like either Buffalo Hunter (emphasizing the NDSU rivalry) or the Metis. The Metis were a group descended from French trappers and Native American women. They were generally considered "white" in the US census, but in Canada, they are one of the "First Nations." For decades, a large Metis colony was in the Grand Forks area and they used to conduct buffalo raids to the south and west. It is part of the history of the Grand Forks area, the US federal government considered them white (and apparently that is ok with the NCAA with Irish, Scots, Orangemen, Vikings, Spartans, Trojans, Kings, Knights, Dukes, Cowboys, etc. all being acceptable), and they were dangerous enemies of the bison on the plains.