IN HONOR OF HALLOWEEN:

THE INDIAN MASCOTS THAT JUST WON’T DIE

In honor of Halloween, the Indian mascot you thought was dead, rears its Jasonesque head. And just when you thought it was safe to attend the homecoming parade and game free of the fake feathered, tomahawk chopping, jingle dress dancing, Mary Kay face painted, beta pi pledging Indian mascot, the past week saw the following occur:

CHIEF ILLINIWEK RESURRECTED FOR HOMECOMING: Last Friday, the University of Illinois Chancellor approved the resurrection of Chief Illiniwek for the homecoming parade. The Chief had been retired by the University of Illinois within this last year, but apparently the coffin wasn’t nailed all the way shut!

DARTMOUTH ALUMNI YEARNS FOR THE RETURN OF THE INDIANS: Upon hearing of the “Return of Illiniwek” Dartmouth College alumnus, Laura Ingraham, a nationally syndicated talk show host, yearned, on air, for the good ol’ days of the Darmouth College Indian mascot. She asked for listener response to the “Return of Illiniwek” and Indian mascots in general. I called in, and was put on hold. She discussed a couple of other topics, and when the call screener finally answered, he asked for my topic. I responded, “Indian mascots.” He promptly replied, “We are done with that topic” and hung up. Probably regretted even mentioning the topic.

TO LAURA: Honor Indians Institute is a big fan of yours. BUT, (butt monkey) we respectfully disagree with your position on Indian mascots. We also agree that the current “Big Green” and “Keggy the Keg” is pretty lame. Dartmouth retired their Indian mascot in the 70’s. In an effort to moderate, we will be introducing a couple of “Alternative Indian Mascots” for Dartmouth College. Maybe you could get the word out to your alma mater and put them up for a vote. Better yet, this would be a great topic for discussion for Native American Heritage Month at Dartmouth College!

FIGHTING SIOUX ON LIFE SUPPORT: Finally, as posted here on HonorIndians.com, the NCAA and the University of North Dakota reached a settlement on their Indian mascot lawsuit. The University is looking for a suitable tribal donor to keep their mascot alive. Time to give up the ghost!!!