ASU still Indians, for now
Posted on Friday, December 2, 2005
Arkansas State won’t have to conceal its Indians identity at the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 20, but its battle with the NCAA over whether its nickname is hostile and abusive to American Indians is far from over.
Athletic Director Dean Lee was in a teleconference with NCAA representatives Monday, two days after Arkansas State had clinched its first Sun Belt Conference title, trying to determine what the program has done wrong in its portrayal of its Indians mascot.
Plenty, Lee discovered.
Lee said he learned that the NCAA had singled out Arkansas State’s use of the nickname Indians, the Indian Family — students dressed as “Chief Big Track,” an Indian princess and a brave — and the headdress incorporated into its logo.
“It was a good exchange,” Lee said. “Right now we’ll absorb the information that we gathered and determine our next move and we’ll continue to have dialogue and conversations with our constituents out there. And [we’ll ] still move deliberately and collectively.”
Arkansas State was one of 18 schools whose portrayal of American Indians mascots originally was deemed hostile and abusive by the NCAA. The NCAA said such schools would be banned from postseason tournaments beginning Feb. 1.
Because of the February deadline and the fact that the bowl games are not governed by the NCAA, Arkansas State won’t have to worry about the mascot issue affecting its presence in its first postseason appearance since 1987.
Lee said ASU will wear its Indians logos with pride at the bowl game.
“We have never been ashamed or embarrassed about our mascot or using the term ‘Indians,’” Lee said.
If and when the time comes to appeal the NCAA’s decision, Arkansas State might be lacking crucial support.
Florida State had its appeal upheld by the NCAA, largely thanks to the backing of the local Seminole tribes. The North Dakota State Fighting Sioux did not receive support from local tribes and had their appeal denied.
Arkansas State, whose nickname was adopted in 1931 and was inspired by the Osage tribe of northern Arkansas, frequently has sought input from American Indians, mostly of Cherokee heritage. But the Cherokee Nation does not support the school’s nickname and decries Arkansas State’s use of its nickname and Indians imagery.
Richard Allen, policy analyst for the Cherokee Nation, and Joni Tucker-Nisbeth, with the American Indian Movement Kansas Support Group, have blasted the continued use of the Indians mascot at Arkansas State, despite the school’s contact with individual American Indians.
“I have been advised to make it clear to Arkansas State University that the Cherokee Nation does not support American Indians as mascots,” Allen wrote in an e-mail to Arkansas State President Les Wyatt. “We do not perceive that mimicry through use of stereotypical imagery is an honor.... Laying claim to an ancestry does not make one a representative of that government. I am an American citizen but I have no authorization to speak on behalf of the United States.”
The NCAA’s definition of hostile and abusive is based on civil rights law, which Wyatt challenged in a letter to the organization, saying there is no specific definition in civil rights law that applies to the mascot issue. The NCAA’s fallback is the dictionary definition of hostile and abusive.
Arkansas State had formulated a list of questions for the NCAA to try and determine exactly how its use of Indians imagery was offensive.
The NCAA similarly found fault with the University of Illinois mascot “Chief Illiniwek,” a costumed student who performs at football and basketball games, but allowed the school to keep its “Fighting Illini” nickname because it is derived from the state’s name.
Arkansas State has proceeded more cautiously in dealing with the NCAA than many of the other schools on the original “hostile and abusive” list.
But an appeal is likely, Lee said.
“As far as a final decision on that, that has not been made,” he said. “We chose this process ... so that, if that’s the route we choose to go, we’d have a little bit more background information and understanding of the definitions and positions of the NCAA and members of the review committee.”
Allen said this week that, whether Arkansas State chooses to change its mascot or is forced to, it would be a good thing in the long run.
“It’s not something that is going to ultimately hurt Arkansas State,” Allen said from his office in Tahlequah, Okla. “Actually, I think if they do move to a different mascot that is not a human caricature they will have a better marketing tool.”
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