UND NICKNAME: Spirit Lake may hold referendumThe Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation likely will hold a referendum vote on whether to allow UND to continue using its Fighting Sioux nickname, a member of the tribal council said Friday.
According to the terms of a legal settlement with the NCAA, UND must retire that nickname and its Indian head logo within three years if it cannot win the support of both the state's Sioux tribes.
At a general assembly meeting of tribal members Thursday, several people suggested the nickname authorization question should be decided by a referendum vote, and tribal chairwoman Myra Pearson said she would support such a vote, said Lois Leben, a member of the tribal council.Comment: I kind of wish the tribe didn't hold a vote. Why? Because public opinion can easily be manipulated. What if
UND offers to pay Spirit Lake a huge sum for the right to use the "Fighting Sioux" name? Then the vote is no longer about whether the name is right or wrong in principle.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteBut then again, there as yet has been no such offer to pay for the right to use the name, 'The Fighting Sioux.' And wouldn't acceptance or refusal of granting such a right ALSO have to be voted upon? In any case, the point may be moot because any voting, if it comes to pass, only would be held by the Spirit Lake Nation, as the Standing Rock Sioux already have stated that they oppose continued use of the nickname and logo by the University of North Dakota. And the NCAA settlement requires that such usage must be supported by both groups...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Right you are, so a vote by Spirit Lake would be inconclusive. Only a vote by both tribes would be conclusive.
ReplyDelete