UI Board of Trustees
Cancels April Meeting

Things are happening quickly these days. A brief summary:

1. Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones Jr. has confirmed his strong dislike of the Chief. His office, when asked about an Illinois Student Government (ISG) press release, stated:

   "The Senator does not like the use of public funds in stereotyping. And, he will closely examine [UIUC's] budget, of which he is a sponsor."

2. Student Trustee Nate Allen announced plans to bring up a vote on the Chief at the Board of Trustees' April 19 meeting. Following this surprising development, reports surfaced that the Board would change their rules to require more than one trustee to place an item on the Board agenda. Neither Allen's announcement nor the aforementioned amendment to Board policy seemed well received by the Board.

3. The Board subsequently stunned everyone on Friday March 12 by canceling their April meeting in Chicago, explaining that there was not enough to be done to justify such a meeting. This is difficult to imagine given not only the Chief issue but also the critical, ongoing search for a new President and Chancellor.

4. And a new organization on the scene, ActNow, has billboards up in Champaign-Urbana calling for "a respectful retirement of the Chief", according to the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. ActNow apparently has a strong University faculty presence. No word yet whether a certain local attorney has signed on.

About that Report to
hold up the State Budget

Will the reality of last week's report that the State of Illinois budget may be suspended ... indefinitely ... please stand up:

1. The truth
2. The whole truth.
3. Nothing but the truth.
4. A bit of an exaggeration.

We can't help but notice that all subsequent mainstream media reports have not taken up the issue of the State budget being held up in the Senate. All reports and statements coming out of President Emil Jones' office have referred to the University of Illinois budget being held up or otherwise impacted by the continued presence of the Chief.

University of Illinois officials have also disputed the statements that Jones communicated to them a threat to withhold UIUC funding over the Chief Illiniwek issue.

We welcome proof of the allegations contained in the ISG press release. They are invited to contact RetireTheChief with concrete evidence backing up their press release statements. Should they wish to do so. Should there exist such evidence.

Now what?

Illinois State Senate president Emil Jones Jr. is clearly unhappy with the Chief, and he is making his feelings known. The organization charged with deciding the Chief's fate has decided not to meet for three months. The Board is likely in turmoil until that meeting as trustees opposed to the Chief, for the Chief, or calling for more (less agitated) dialogue anticipate meeting again in a public forum. RetireTheChief anticipates, to say the least, a spirited protest at the Chicago BOT meeting as well. Those who know with certainty what will happen in the coming weeks may now log off their computer and make their fortune on the stock market.

Some thoughts:

• The genie will not go back into the bottle. This issue is and has been political for some time - in fact, for quite a long time. Example - word that the governor has pressured trustees to not retire the Chief.
• The anti-Chief effort was significantly and probably permanently solidified by the protest and rally on Wednesday-Thursday.
• The Illinois government attention to this issue was probably inevitable. The negative publicity surrounding the Chief is reflecting poorly on the University and, by extension, the State.
• Charlene Teters stated Wednesday night that the University of Illinois is well known in Indian Country - and not in a good way. Expanded enrollment of Native American students is unlikely or at the very least considerably held back by the presence of the Chief.

Stay tuned.

Anti-Chief Protest

Isn't it time to retire the Chief? •

ISG "Chief Forum"
Monday March 15

The Illinois Student Government (ISG) will be holding a forum "for students to discuss the Chief in anticipation of the March 16-17 referendum." It will be held Monday March 15 at 7:00 p.m. in room 192 of Lincoln Hall, 702 S. Wright St., Urbana. Time will be made available for public comment.

"Referendum" on Chief

Opinion
We Regret the Confusion

Misconceptions/Distortions
Regarding Chief Illiniwek

1. The Chief Illiniwek issue is "internal to the University."

   So says the ostensibly neutral Illinois Student Government. Chief Illiniwek is a local issue? Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence Eppley, when interviewed by WAND-TV, didn't think so, saying the vigorous debate "shows you how expansive the issue is." And a a recent editorial in the University of Oregon's Daily Emerald called for their University's administration to avoid scheduling sporting events with teams who "offensively use a name or mascot of any ethnic group" - this after word that their basketball team would play Illinois in the next two years.

   The Chief isn't just a University issue - not even close. Ask a Native American - say, one from the states of Minnesota, Michigan, or Illinois, all of whom were represented at the protest on March 11. It is a community issue; the majority of the protesters Wednesday were from Champaign-Urbana. And it is a state issue - it has been pointed out that most Native Americans at the protest were from Chicago. Illinois. And UIUC is a state institution. But the the nationally recognized Southern Poverty Law Center, which takes on civil rights issues across the country; has also called for retirement of the Chief, joining many other organizations.

2. The Chief's fate should be decided by the students.

   And presumably the state, which has the responsibility for funding and overseeing the University, should stay out of the issue. Illinois Student Government (ISG) president Andrew Erskine was quoted by WAND-TV as saying "The State Government should, kind of, see its way to things that are under its jurisdiction a little more clearly." Well, UIUC is a state University. And, let us not forget that the ISG "referendum" on the Chief was co-sponsored by an ISG assembly member who just happens to be the president of Students for Chief Illiniwek.

3. Don't they get it? The Chief honors Native Americans.

   Having spent nearly 12 hours on the Quad Wednesday afternoon and evening, let me state clearly that no, they don't. Native Americans are clearly, frequently, and emphatically stating that they are not honored by the Chief. A white student, wearing face paint, leaping about and doing splits is ... not honorable. See & hear Native Americans say so.

4. The dance is authentic ...

   Many sincerely believe the Chief's dance is authentic, despite the fact that, according to pro-Chief information,

   • the dance "evolved over the years"
   • the original Illini tribes' dress was likely "simpler and less ornate" than Chief Illiniwek's
   • the dyed turkey feathers in the headdress are intended "to simulate eagle feathers." The original eagle feathers were returned to Native Americans.

   The return of the eagle feathers was the correct choice to respect the sacred nature of them; they have been called "very, very important religious articles to all tribes".

   However, even "simulated" eagle feathers offends Native Americans, as does the presence of the Chief as a University symbol. The return of the eagle feathers was the morally honorable thing to do. The retirement of the Chief would be the same.