Eliminate the "Fighting Sioux" Nickname and Logo

In 2005 Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA executive committee, received a letter from Standing Rock Tribal Chair Ron His Horse is Thunder. In this letter it stated that the tribal council "...officially and respectfully requests [University of North Dakota] to discontinue use of it's nickname and logo and support the NCAA decision to bar the use of Native American tribal names in post season games by colleges and universities."

Leigh Jeanotte, director of American Indian services at UND, has worked for more than 20 years to convince the school to change it's nickname and logo. Jeanotte says "In this day and age we don't see teams using Hispanic names, African American names. And my guess is this decision sends a clear statement that American Indians should not be used in this manner."

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/04/28/ncaavsund/

In 2007 the NCAA and the state of North Dakota settled the lawsuit regarding the NCAA%u2019s 2005 policy prohibiting Native American mascots and imagery at its championships.

The UND has until November 30, 2010: a) to obtain namesake tribe approval for its nickname and related imagery from both the Spirit Lake Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, b) transition to a new nickname and logo that do not violate the policy, or c) suffer restrictions regarding post season games and tournaments.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=6791