NCAA asks for nickname justification
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is forcing 31 schools to explain the necessity of the use of American Indian tribes as mascots or nicknames.
This is the second time in less than five years that CMU’s Chippewas nickname will be under scrutiny. The report is due May 1.
“There are American Indians that are offended by their use,” said Ronald Stratten, NCAA vice president for Education Services. “We are a country of immigrants, yet there are certain cultures that don’t get the same respect. That’s not what the NCAA is about.”
Derek van der Merwe, associate athletics director in charge of compliance, said it is a way to check up on CMU.
“The NCAA wants to know the context of how we use the nickname,” he said. “Our assessment is it is strictly name only and we are using it out of respect and dignity.”
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe signed a resolution in 1988 that allowed CMU to continue its use of the nickname, and the university discontinued the use of any mascots or American Indian depictions at the start of the 1989 athletic season.
Field hockey coach Cristy Freese’s team was unable to play a game at Iowa University last season because Iowa’s administration said it would not play non-conference teams that had American Indian nicknames.
The Chippewas drove all the way to Iowa City to play Stanford instead.
“Iowa wouldn’t play us because of our nickname and that bothered me a lot because they have no idea,” Freese said. “Everything we do here is appropriate.”
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is being sued by the Illinois Native American Bar Association because of its use of Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini nickname.
The Fighting Illini mascot comes out and does a four to five minute rendition of an “Indian celebrating dance,” said Thomas Hardy, executive director for university relations at U of I.
“We have had considerable dialogue and debate over the chief in the last 15 years,” Hardy said. “Our Board of Trustees is currently engaged in process to find a conclusion.”
Hardy said there is no longer any members of the Illini tribe in the state. Illinois did not officially recognize the mascot’s use until 1995.
