I have enjoyed the Chief since I was a little kid. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what the Chief stands for. The Chief is honored by all and will be missed.
Who in their right mind would end this glorious tradition?! It's not right that the opinions of a few supercede all of us that went there and love and respect this symbol of pride and heritage. He is SO much more than a mascot.
i spoke with a lakota woman hew has been meting with the school 4 years over the issue an she says the school wouldn't budge on doing things 2 make the chief more educational about the people he represents an it is sad cause both sides of the coin lost because of it
My two cents...the end of the Chief is, in a way, a signpost. He was once a proud symbol of the University of Illinois. The chief is no longer a symbol of pride and the Native American population is no longer a proud people. I am one half Native American and am very ashamed of the greed and corruption my people have exhibited especially over the last two generations. Two proud traditions gone!
how about the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves..... Good grief. if the chief is suppose to be so darn offensive, get rid of all. The U of I will never be the same without the beloved CHIEF.
Chief Illiniwek returns Nov. 15 at the Assembly Hall. Time not established but either before or after Ohio State game. The university "retired" the Chief, but students have free speech rights. A new Chief Illiniwek will perform in replica regalia. The event is free for students, $5 for the general public. There are 17,000 seats in the Assembly hall. Friends of the Chief should be standing in front of one of them. (Who could sit?)
there was many councils with the school about trying 2 get the chief more like a Illinois chief an they refused 2 respect the native culture i have told the school if they hold a pow-wow 2 show they honer the people they portray the school refuses an one of the biggest problems with the chief is the school racks in tons of money off his image an gives zero of it 2 native american indians an that it self is verry dis respectful ~~~ i like 2 see the chief return but do it in a way its respectful
If the Chief was abolished, I'd just lose it. I don't think I could handle something like that. I waited for 18 years to see Chief. Every time I see the Chief burst out of the ranks, whether in person or in a video, I get chills and it makes me feel like I'm part of this great University. Long live Chief Illiniwek and God bless the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Wow. 1 Unlike. Whoever that is must feel really lonely, and is taking out his/her anger on one of the most honorable traditions in college history. To anyone who puts down the Chief, all I can say is this: UNDERSTAND SOMETHING BEFORE YOU DESTROY IT. That is the root of the racism you say you are fighting against.
Bob224Bob - YOU should be thanked beyond what's possible for compiling and posting this marvellous video. We Illinoisans have so much to be proud of, and much of that IS and forever WILL BE the tradition of CHIEF ILLINIWEK at the University of Illinois. No one can try to make me feel in any way disparaging. I don't buy into that agenda for a moment. Congrats on a job well done! LONG LIVE THE CHIEF!!!!
I'm in part Scottish descent, but I am in no way offended by the mascot of the Edinboro (PA) University "Fighting Scots" nor am I concerned whether the university's tartan is authentic or not or whose tartan it might be. Please be offended for me, ssssss7. I don't have the time. Or since you mentioned it, fight real alcoholism and diabetes on the reservation caused by metabolism diffences between whites and Indians. Ah, but it's more profitable to whine about imagined slights. It's all money.
Sorry, that "exclusive" should be "exclusionary." In other words, a "white" mascot excludes everyone who isn't white. One wonders why Purdue's "Boilermaker" hasn't been attacked yet, actually. Another thought: I don't think apple pickers have ever been upset by the mascot of Cobden (IL) High School, the Appleknockers, or Northeast HS (PA), the Grapepickers. Oh, where is the wrath!?
It's obviously not supposed to be a a sacred dance. If anything, it is more closely related to an exaggerated fancy dance so that people in the upper seats can see it. The correct garb would also be hard to see and would leave the performer very close to naked.
Spirit Lake Massacre: "Mrs. Thatcher became ill and the Indians threw her into the Big Sioux River and then clubbed and shot her to death as she tried to crawl out." Change the name of the team, change the name of the state. What honorable person would want to share the heritage of the Spirit Lake Massacre?
very sad that he's gone, it's hard to find traditional ceremonies on native american reservations, let alone something with the exposure of a college football game, all this does is makes native american tradition closer to extinction, by no means does does it deride the native american. What I think is a joke are the handouts that the US government is doling out in the form of tax breaks and casino licenses.
Does anyone know if Texas Southern is still known as the scalping braves? Gee that sounds a bit more offenesive than fighting illini. Hmmm anyone else?
agreed. People say the Chief is a racist mascot, but they have it all wrong. He is a symbol of not only our great university, but also our state's heritage. Honor, Pride, Courage, and Loyalty are what he stands for and should be a model for the students of our school.
What I can't get is the fact that I have friends that are native american and they love Chief. They think he is awsome and they see no problem with him being the Symbol of the university. If you don't like Chief, then don't go to or work at the U of I!! Save the Chief!!!
Whoever wants to get rid of the Chief must really hate Native Americans, huh? I love Chief and for me, seeing Chief for the first time at my first Illini football game was the most emotional moment of my life. My whole life, I've wanted to go to U of I and my mother has always told me about the Chief, building up his image in my mind. Seeing him in person as he burst out of the ranks of the Marching Illini, I almost cried. He's the symbol that I actually made it to U of I, that's it's real.
@Pookatube Bringing back Chief Illiniwek would be almost impossible due to the fact that the guy who spearheaded the movement to get rid of the Chief is now President of the United States.
(Sarcasm follows): Speaking as an Illini alum, ALL of the Illini reference must go, including the music, team name, university name...and the name of the state, since it's simply a French spelling of Illini. Then Wisconsin goes, Michigan goes, INDIANA goes. The Mississippi River goes. Let's scrap it all and call it the University of the Land of Lincoln and the team the Railsplitters, using a WHITE MALE as a symbol. I promise to not be offended.
If it's about the money, I'm sure that a reasonable accomodation could be made by the alumni. And I'm surprised the university refused a powwow, although I don't know what complications there might be. Was a reason given as to why it was turned down? Please note: the university holds Chief Illiniwek in the highest respect. He does not walk the sidelines during a game, he doesn't do pushups after a touchdown. What you see here is his only game appearance and that's how those who love him want it.
You are profoundly ignorant of both American and Scottish history. I'll start by saying that Edinboro University is in PENNSYLVANIA, a state school named for the city it's located in. It has nothing more to do with Scotland than Slippery Rock University does. You're confusing it with Edinburgh, in Scotland, which is pronounced Edinboro. But you knew that, didn't you? But you, of course, would never stoop to namecalling.
Well, you seem to want to have it both ways. It either is or it isn't, and you don't get off by saying "that's not ours, but it is ours." No, we didn't make it up. Actually, blame Rousseau's Noble Savage for the veneration the American Indian. Rousseau said primitive man was somehow "pure" and civilization degraded man. Now we know that stone age man was more likely to die from violence by human than is modern man. So it would be better to have Purdue's Boilermanker as a symbol, no? :-)
Again, mr massacre, the incident started by accident. One of the Lakota was deaf and didn't understand the terms of surrendering his rifle. During a scuffle a shot was fired, and like most such incidents, no one knows by whom. Shooting commenced both ways, and some troopers were even killed by "friendly fire." Things happened that shouldn't have, and the commander was punished for it. Unlike your woman killer, whom you praise. He's no warrior, just a cold-blooded thug.
True warriors do not club sick women to death. If the Spirit Lake Massacre is emblematic of your fight and something to be proud of, consider that after the Wounded Knee Massacre, which began over a misunderstanding based on inaccurate translation, resulted in punishment for the officer in charge. You call a woman killer your hero; the U.S. Army punished the commander who presided over a botched operation. You praise Inkpadutah for courage? It's an odd choice.
Furthermore, a Sooner is a term for someone who cheated in order to claim land in Oklahoma. OK's official mascot is a covered wagon. A cowboy is an American subculture who, consequently, didn't play nice with Native Americans. Pirates don't exist anymore, and they were theives. None of the teams you mention have a mascot that falsely depicts a sacred ceremonial dance donning the incorrect garb.
Polls are biased. What tribe(s) did those 82% belong to? Ones affiliated with Illini? I'm sure those tribes not affiliated to the one in question, just as other races, find it less offensive because it doesn't pertain to them. When was this poll taken?And what about the remaining 18%? Do we run it like the government and only "officially" declare it offensive when we get a 2/3 majority vote?
You keep whining about the turkey feathers, but the turkey feathers are used out of respect instead of the eagle feathers that have religious significance. Also, are you saying that no person that's not of Native American descent should be allowed to perform a native dance, or are you just racist towards whites?
This is incredible!!! I have to say this brought tears to my eyes. It's hard to think about ending 80 years of this great tradition. Let's all step up and do what we can to keep the tradition alive!! Long live the Chief!!!
...since you're so clever, look up whether MacCado wears an authentic tartan, and if so, of which clan, and what that clan thinks of its tartan being used. And if not an authentic tartan, are Scots in Scotland upset about a non-authentic tartan being used? I know from experience that Scots are proud of their heritage being "adopted" by non-Scots, and would be particularly bemused by, say, black students wearing tartan and singing Scotland the Brave. I guess they're not insecure, ya think?
I know, kdogg. The point of the sarcasm is that there's no satisfying people who've bought into passive-aggressive victimhood as a way of life. UMass was once the Redmen, using an Indian image, but the name was changed to Minutemen in 1972. Now that mascot is being criticized because as WHITE and MALE, it's "exclusive," and, goodness, he has a GUN!
s, you have to look further than chamber of commerce puffery. The private Edinboro Academy was taken out of "Scottish" hands by the state within a few years, and has been a state school ever since. The Scottish heritage days are sort of like a powwow for scalping tourists. Edinboro U's students are hardly all Scots; few "pureblood" Scots are left in the US. But the Scots in Scotland don't get in a tizzy about EUP's using "Scotland the Brave" as a fight song, and since you're so clever...
What I don't understand is that if Chief Illiniwek is "inauthentic" and therefore represents no Native American tribe, why should anyone care about him representing U of I. He's OUR Chief, not yours. He's OUR tradition, not yours. We don't tell you how to celebrate your heritage. Don't tell how to celebrate ours. He belongs to us. Hands off Chief Illiniwek.
So I guess we agree, then, that Illinois should no longer use Chief Illiniwek as a symbol of the spirit of the university, as least as long as Inkpadutah is your idea of a warrior. Indeed, if this Native culture, others should want nothing of it. So you and I agree, no symbol of women killers for the University of Illinois.
Ah, yes, the "Spirit Lake Massacre," when the Native American equivalent of Hells Angels and not respected by others, responded to hospitality by murdering their hosts and enslaving three women, killing one when she became ill. Now THAT's something to be proud of. Yep, let's call it Land of Lincoln. No more Native images. BTW, what happened at Starved Rock?
There's what can be called a "greivance industry" in the US today. It works by whoever can claim the most abuse gets the most benefits. Thus it's important for people like ssssss7 to discover more ways to complain in a topsyturvy world where compliments become insults. If ALL Indian references in the US were removed tomorrow, there would be complaints about that too. It's called being passive-aggressive, and ssssss7 has it down to a T. If the wheel doesn't squeak, the wheel doesn't get greased.
The 7th Cav did not carry sabers in plains warfare. They were ineffective for that type of combat and heavy to carry, so they were taken out of the trooper's equipment.
And by the way, when I say "American history," I'm referring to a history of North America--so don't go jumping to conclusions again. Look, you won the battle over Chief Illiniwek. Maybe you are descendents of those Indians who gave "Starved Rock" its name, by trapping members of the Illini federation on the rock until they died of starvation, winning that battle too. There are no, or perhaps few, Illini left, killed off by their friendly Native neighbors.
We all speak on how it's NOT degrading, yet it's a tradition that is not ours and does not belong to us - so how are we to POSSIBLY understand it? While I realize it is a time-honored tradion to those of us with roots at U of I, if the depiction of this is found offensive by those who LIVE it, then there should have NEVER been the question of whether or not to get rid of Chief Illiniwek. It should have been done with no questions asked.
I went to U of I and have seen the documentaries and I myself have attended Pow Wows. Native Americans DO find it offensive. It's the racial equivalent of a KKK mascot. It's a moral issue, which is lost on those that lack them.
