[Newspoetry] [Dialogue@uillinois.edu: RE: The "Chief"]

[Bill Wendling]

----- Forwarded message from Dialogue <Dialogue at uillinois.edu> -----

From: Dialogue <Dialogue at uillinois.edu>
To: "'Bill Wendling'" <wendling at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
Subject: RE: The "Chief"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 14:34:36 -0600
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> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Bill Wendling [SMTP:wendling at ncsa.uiuc.edu]
> Sent:	Thursday, February 17, 2000 11:38 AM
> To:	dialogue at uillinois.edu
> Subject:	The "Chief"
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I attened UIUC as an undergraduate in the years 1990-1992. I'm currently
> working at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the
> UIUC Computer Science department, and am a graduate student in the CS
> department at UIUC. UIUC is known throughout the country as one of the
> top universities in areas such as computer science, engineering, and
> library and information sciences, just to name a few. Yet, I am
> frequently embarrassed to admit that I attend this university because of
> the way Native Americans are portrayed. I am referring, of course, to the
> "Chief."
> 
> As an ethnic group, Native Americans have been treated extremely poorly.
> The actions of or ancestors bordered on genocide. Native Americans have
> been marginalized to an extreme which I can only imagine and shudder at.
> 
> It is my belief that the Chief continues this marginalization by
> stereotyping Native American people. Native American people have
> protested time and time again that the Chief is offensive to them. The
> response is generally along the lines of "no it doesn't." This is a very
> patronizing response and, ultimately, inconsequential. The amount
> offsense that a group feels towards something cannot be measured by
> others outside that group.
> 
> The rhetoric is thick on both sides of this issue, but I believe one
> view stands out as particularly sensible. Consider any other marginalized
> group. Would the university allow a black minstral show or someone
> dressed as an Hassidic Jew to perform during sporting events? Would the
> university adopt the flag of the Nazis or the Confederate flag to display
> during these events?
> 
> The answers are self-evident.
> 
> As for the Chief being a tradition, I don't deny this. But traditions are
> not always good and one needs to question why one does something be it a
> tradition or not.
> 
> And, finally, it is often mentioned that removal of the Chief will result
> in loss of funds from alumni. This is patently false, of course. People
> will support their football/basketball team no matter what mascot they
> have.
> 
> -- 
> || Bill Wendling			wendling at ncsa.uiuc.edu
> || Research Programmer

----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
|| Bill Wendling			wendling at ncsa.uiuc.edu
|| Research Programmer