ONEOFMANYFEATHERS'
Questions and Answers on the "Chief"
Chief Illiniwek's final official appearance was at an Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball game on February 21, 2007.
What's wrong with the "Chief"?
Having a caricature of a Native American as the University's mascot and symbol encourages and promotes stereotyping of Native People. Images such as the "Chief" create a one-dimensional picture of Native Americans. These images undermine the self-determination and dignity of a people with a complex history and an active contemporary life. When any racial or cultural group is presented as lacking diversity and individual personality through caricatures and stereotypes, racism and cultural supremacy are at work - even if those doing the stereotyping feel it portrays positive characteristics. These symbols come straight out of America's past, from a time when racism was tolerated. The symbols were racist then and are racist now.
Doesn't the "Chief" help us honor Indian culture?
For many people, caricatures like the "Chief" are the only contact they have with Native American history and culture. But by celebrating an inaccurate, romantic and mythologized version of culture constructed for the entertainment of non-Native Americans, we effectively deny a true understanding of Native American society, past and present.
There are no Illini left. Isn't the "Chief" really the only way we have of remembering them?
The Illini were actually a loose confederation of tribes from a common linguistic stock. They included the Kaskaskias, Tamaroas, Cohokias, Peorias, Michegameas, Moingwenas, and possibly several smaller tribes. It is true that there are no Illini left, only in the sense that the confederation dissolved in the late 17th century. There are undoubtedly descendants of its members alive today.
If we want to remember the Illini, we must remember them and not a caricature of them. Projects and presentations which address the contributions of the Illini and other Native Americans in the world's development would be a better way of remembering.
The "Chief's" performance is authentic, so what's the problem?
The Chief was an outgrowth of a boy scout project in 1926. The "dance" has nothing to do with the Illini . The current "training" for the dance is based on how well you can do the "two-step" i.e. hop up and down to a "native" beat. The "Indian"music heard during the "dance" was written by a U of I band director based on a Hollywood version of a native drum beat.
If the dance were authentic, it would probably be part of a religious dance ceremony, as are most Indian dances. As a religious dance, it would certainly be out of place at a sports event. The U of I "dance" is performed by a single individual. In Native American society, a dance of this sort is performed by the whole community. In this respect, the "Chief's" performance creates a misleading and incomplete image of the meaning of dance in Native American culture.
The dance uses a symbol of Native Americans for the entertainment of the crowd. Even if Native American people changed the performance to make it an authentic representation of an Illiniwek dance, they still could not control commercial derivations of the dance or the attitude of the crowd, which would continue to see Indian culture as a source of entertainment.
Even if the "Chief" isn't authentic, he's noble and dignified. Isn't this something that Indians can be proud of?
In the U.S. many racial and ethnic groups have had to endure the supposedly positive representations others have made of them. In each case, most group members disagreed with the majority view that the symbols were appropriate. Chief Illiniwek is no exception. The symbol has been denounced by the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, Women of All Red Nations, the American Indian Movement, Wilma Mankiller, the Lakota Times, Jesse Jackson, Sports Illustrated and many more.
Here is one Native American's view:
"This inappropriate use of the highest political position a Native person can hold with their tribe as an enhancement to an athletic spectacle illustrates the attitude of the dominant society toward Native Americans. What stands between Native people and self-determination isn't more money or federal programs but the whole "Manifest Destiny" mentality. The very social conditions of Native Americans today are a direct result of this mentality. It is in this way that the Chief Illiniwek does impact Native American lives."
Nothing gives anyone the right to speak for anyone else. But one does not have to be a member of an oppressed group to fight oppression. People who take a principled stand against injustice have a right and a responsibility to fight racism, no matter what form it takes, and no matter who is its victim. When Indians and non-Indians stand in alliance against racism, we uphold the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect.
This is such a trivial matter. Why not focus on bigger problems?
Racism is never trivial. It is a threat to a people's dignity and self-determination. Certainly, we must continue to address the many other problems Native Americans face. But let us suppose for a moment that the "Chief" mascot is indeed a trivial matter. Why, then, is there any objection whatsoever to removing it?
What can we do?
You can join the movement to end the racist tradition of the "Chief Illiniwek" mascot and help to create a new tradition, one of respect for the rights of Native American people.
Register your opposition to the "Chief" by calling President Stukel at 333-3071 , Chancellor Aiken at 333-6290, The Board of Trustees at 333-1920, the Alumni Association at 333-1471, and members of the C-U business community who are profiting from the sale of "Chief"-related merchandise.
Copy and circulate this leaflet, circulate petitons, write letters to the editor, and pass resolutions urging the removal of the "Chief".
Make your opposition known at all Board of Trustees meetings and all appearances of the "Chief".
Contact the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC) at Box 2600, Station A, Champaign, IL 61825 - 344-8209 or 328-2444 - prc@ uiuc.edu for more info or buttons and t-shirts featuring the logo at the top of this leaflet.
Chief Illiniwek's final official appearance was at an Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball game on February 21, 2007.
Say No To Mascots!
