The following is the transcript of a Foellinger balcony narrative from April 14, 2000. It is an unedited excerpt from the original Chief dialogue document.

One of the things that saddens me is I don't understand how some of the white people who are for the Chief can stand up there and say it honors the Chief when before they are speaking and after their speech today Native American people, actual real life Native American people have said it dishonors them, it's racism, it hurts them. It makes it hard for them to go to school here. It hurts the children, it causes pain.

I don't understand how someone can hang onto a belief when the people you say you are honoring are speaking and saying it hurts us, it doesn't honor us. And I am hoping the Board of Trustees will listen to the voices of the Native Americans who are here today. There have been no Native Americans who have said the Chief honors them. There have been none and they to me are the real judges of whether the Chief as a symbol or a mascot, whatever you say, they are the judges of that. Nobody else can be a judge of that.

I heard a former chief speak today and he said of course it honors them, so afterwards I went outside and I talked to him, I said how can you do that? How can you hear these voices and still say it honors? And he says it's a difference of opinion. And he says that you know, he doesn't really believe that it causes Native Americans pain.

So here we have Native Americans testifying of their pain, of the racism and he is not believing them. And I think that must be how he continues to do what he does. He's not a bad person, I don't believe he is. But he must be deaf to not hear these voices. He must not, because I think it would be really painful if he really heard these voices and believed it, that he would be intentionally hurting a group of people. I can't believe that another human being would intentionally do it. It's happened throughout history. But I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt. So I guess I just want to ask you to please listen to the native voices. Not the voices of people who say they honor, because they are not in a position to judge that. Because they are not Native American.

And I am ashamed of my white peers who claim to speak for me and who claim to speak for Native Americans. I just ask you to listen to the native voices. They are the most important ones among us. Thank you for the opportunity to speak again.

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