The following transcript is from the 4/14/00 Chief Illiniwek dialogue "intake session". It is an unedited excerpt from the original U.I. document.

My family moved here four years for me to complete a doctorate. It never occurred to me what it would be like for my son to live in this community that is saturated with inaccurate and stereotypical Native iconography, where a college student dresses up for half-time entertainment as a Native spiritual leader, where most people have never met a Native person and know nothing about the languages and cultures of the first people of this land.

I thought it would be exciting to take Wayne to Big 10 sporting events. But I realized soon after a glimpse of tailgate parties where intoxicated individuals paint their faces and don turkey feathers, that Illinois sporting events are not proper viewing for my son, nor for any children, for that matter. The University's use of Wayne's religious and cultural items for half-time entertainment denies him a sense of pride and respect for his cultural heritage and his religion.

If Chief Illiniwek is truly about honoring Native Americans, surely after all these decades, school children, Wayne's peers, would be knowledgeable about and respectful of Native Americans, at the very least, they would recognize one in their midst. But they don't, because Chief Illiniwek freezes Native peoples in the past.

Shortly after beginning third grade in Champaign, Wayne was in a fight one day because kids were calling him gay boy and Barbie. After patiently explaining to children that Wayne is Shoshone-Bannock and the significance of his long hair, then he began hearing "woo woo" and other racial slurs. I was forced to remove Wayne from school and home taught him in fourth grade.

In fifth grade, a fellow student called him a stupid Indian savage. In sixth grade, he has been removed from a teaching team because the teacher cannot understand why it is racist to tell Wayne he is not a good representative of his people, or humiliate him with his heritage.

The institutionalized use of Native imagery in this community has made it difficult for teachers and students alike to recognize discriminatory and racist practices for what they are. The University has engendered and fostered an environment where children learn Indians are used for half-time entertainment and that it is okay to treat them in a disrespectful manner. It is okay to be a fake Indian on the football field but not a real Indian in the classroom.

No one seems to notice that this symbol teaches non-Native children disrespect. That it is okay to use other cultures and religions for fun. But children are not born racist. They learn racism from parents, peers, teachers and the institutions around them. It is not okay and not consistent with the University's mission to create a hostile climate that excludes American Indians both at school and within their communities.

A direct correlation between the use of Indians as mascots and symbols and the violence directed against them has been confirmed by research. According to the United States Department of Justice, American Indians are two and a half times as likely to be victims of violent crime than any other group of Americans. Further, statistics show that the violence against Native Americans is committed by non-Natives. Suicide rates for American Indian youth are also several times greater. Thank you.

MODERATOR GARIPPO: If you have any further statements that you wish to submit, please leave them up on the stage.

When I received my acceptance from the University.

MODERATOR GARIPPO: Identify yourself, please.

See the U.I. Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek page for more transcripts and information.