The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Illinois faculty and the Illinois Chapter of the National Coalition on Racism and Sports in the Media, has sued officials at the University of Illinois, Champaign, for requiring faculty and staff to get athletics department clearance before communicating with potential student-athletes. A judge granted a temporary injunction in the case, and the plaintiffs have announced plans to contact potential student-athletes and inform them of Illinois' controversial mascot, Chief Illiniwek.

At the University of North Dakota, a donor threatened to cease construction on a $100 million hockey arena if the "Fighting Sioux" name or logo was discontinued. Meanwhile, threats and hostilities against American Indians on campus have risen to the point that the school's president issued a public statement calling for civility.

And now, a Division II president, Roy H. Saigo of St. Cloud State University, has formally requested that the NCAA discuss the issue of American Indian mascots, symbols, nicknames and imagery.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Education Association, the National Organization for Women, and numerous church-affiliated organizations agree with the American Indian groups and have asked that use of the mascots and all related imagery cease.

In response to Saigo's request, the Division II Presidents Council is expected to address the issue in some manner at its April 26 meeting. It is likely that the group will refer the issue to the Association-wide Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity Issues, which is the NCAA governance group that played the major role in the Confederate battle flag issue.

"We believe that, like the Confederate flag issue, this is a serious issue and there are many people who regard it as such," said Patricia Cormier, president of Longwood College and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. "We believe this issue is appropriate for consideration by university presidents representing the entire Association, not just Division II."

Decades of debate

The conflict over American Indian imagery in athletics is nothing new. The debate began in the late 1960s as the National Congress of American Indians began a campaign to address Indian stereotypes in print and media. Dartmouth College and Stanford University, among others, stopped using American Indian nicknames and logos at about that time. Over the years, numerous other schools followed suit, including such prominent institutions as Marquette University, Syracuse University, St. John's University (New York) and Miami University (Ohio).

Many other schools still use American Indian nicknames and imagery, such as "Braves," "Indians," "Warriors" or "Tribe." Although no NCAA members still use "Redskins," there are still "Redmen" and also the "Savages" of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, which took home the Division II baseball title in 2000.

At the moment, the most controversial usages appear to be the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini and Chief Illiniwek, and the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota. However, schools of all sizes and missions use American Indian names and imagery, including Division I-AA's Alcorn State University, a historically black college that still uses "Braves" (though it has dropped the "Scalping" adjective).

American Indian mascot opponents say the use of such nicknames and imagery has a variety of negative effects.

"For Indian students on campus, it makes them a target and creates a hostile environment for them. For non-Indian students, it creates a misunderstanding of a living culture and it creates a stereotypical image. For African-American students, it's another example of racism. It's a wide issue that affects everyone. Perhaps those most affected are those who never think about it. They become desensitized, and seeing people reduced to cartoons becomes acceptable."

Veeder said that dance, face paint, feathers and ceremonial dress are all sacred items in American Indian culture and religion. Veeder also noted that chiefs are religious and political leaders in American Indian society, making use of their image particularly troublesome.

"The best way to honor Indians is to get to know real Indian people," Veeder said. "Mascots who dance are mocking what dancing means to American Indians. It's an important part of Indians' spirituality."

When American Indian images associated with intercollegiate athletics appear as mascots on T-shirts, boxer shorts, seat cushions, and even toilet paper, beer cans and shot glasses, Veeder said that the conveyed message is not just stereotypical; instead, it is degrading.

"One of the most troubling things we have found is the issue of collateral damage," Veeder said. "When people are excited about a big game or a tournament appearance, there are all kinds of images and caricatures that appear. Sometimes the only things more offensive than what a school creates for itself is what its opponents create against it."

American Indian images have been burned in effigy on college campuses many times, and frenzied fans have created T-shirts that show stereotypical images of American Indians either preparing to "go on the warpath" or falling in defeat. Signs that say "Kill the Sioux," for example, are commonplace, Veeder said.

"Once you create an environment where you make it OK to mock living people, you open the door for all kinds of racist uses," Veeder said. "When children see these T-shirts and posters, whether they are American Indian children or not, they understand that the people are being degraded and shamed."

A time for change?

"Why is it we can't deal with this? It's no longer only a Native American issue, it is an issue of racism perpetuated by intercollegiate athletics."

Ann H. Die, president of Hendrix College and former chair of the Division III Presidents Council, announced a few years ago that the time had come for her institution to examine the issue. In January 2000, Die announced that the Hendrix Warriors would retain the nickname but no longer use American Indian or other ethnic imagery. The school is temporarily without any logo or mascots while a committee continues to examine alternatives.

"This has been an issue under discussion here at the institution for almost 30 years," Die said. "When I arrived in 1992, it was back on the table."

Die appointed an all-college committee consisting of students, student-athletes, faculty, staff, alumni, boosters and board of trustee members to explore the issue. They held focus groups, surveyed the campus and gathered a variety of opinions.

"For that reason, I wanted a full study, a report and a recommendation. Because it had percolated for 30 years, there was much to discuss. But it was clear that it is a different era now. It's a different time, and we have to be responsive to the era in which we live."

John Churchill, vice-president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Hendrix, chairs the mascot committee, which soon will recommend graphic images to accompany the team name "Warriors."

"We may integrate the team name 'Warrior' into the imagery of the bulldog (which represented the school before 1929) or we may just use a graphic of an 'H' or related image," he said. "What we're committed to is not presenting any kind of ethnic image -- not just no Native American Warriors, but no Greek Warriors or Samuri Warriors either. But we also thought that the virtues of courage, loyalty and teamwork were imbedded in that name and were worth preserving."

Churchill noted that there were vocal members on either side of the debate at Hendrix -- some who believed any changes were completely unnecessary and some who believed anything other than completely eliminating the "Warriors" was unacceptable. In the middle, though, were many who understood that the time had come to do something.

"Between the two extremes there was a vast majority who thought there could be a reasonable solution that made no reference to an ethnic group and would offend no one," Churchill said.

Todd Schilperoort, athletics director at Seattle University, a provisional Division II member, came to Seattle after the university had chosen to change from the Chieftains to the Redhawks. Schilperoort also served on the athletics department staff at Miami University (Ohio), now the RedHawks, when the institution was known as the Redskins. (Miami changed its nickname in 1997, and Seattle changed in 2000.)

"I think the changes were necessary from the standpoint that these groups, which are ostensibly represented in the mascots, didn't have a say in their use," Schilperoort said. "There is this lack of understanding or sensitivity on the part of a lot of people in intercollegiate athletics. I don't think they make the connection, which brings to light a complete lack of sensitivity on the issue. I wonder if their ethnic groups were used in such a fashion, how would they feel?

"If something is an inaccurate portrayal, a distorted representation of a group or a negative image, there's no place for it in intercollegiate athletics."

Schilperoort said some Seattle alumni still feel strongly attached to the "Chieftains."

"People fondly recall when Seattle was a basketball powerhouse and they are very proud of those teams, which were Chieftains," he said. "I don't think there was ever any intentional degradation (at Seattle University). But we're trying to leave it behind us, without taking anything away from our alumni. They were Chieftains, now we're Redhawks. We have to move forward in the climate of today."

An NCAA issue?

While the matter clearly is controversial, there is a question about whether the NCAA should be involved.

Saigo, president of St. Cloud State, has brought the issue to the NCAA because he believes it is time for university presidents to discuss American Indian mascots on a national level.

"We need to sensitize people, we need to educate and we need to discuss this issue so that others can become aware of this and think about it," he said. "I think it's important that university presidents be leaders and initiate change on this."

Saigo, who is Japanese-American, was incarcerated during World War II because of his race. He believes the experience gave him a unique perspective on the mascot issue.

"I'm a former federal prisoner who's now a university president," he said. "I find the caricatures and the put-downs prevalent in the mascot issue similar to the caricatures of Blacks and Japanese. And I personally know how hurtful these stereotypes can be."

Saigo noted the absence of a majority race in California, a sign of the diverse student population now served in universities.

"We need to progress," he said. "This country is changing, and we need to change along with it. We can't wait for the 'majority.' I've never seen the majority come up and say 'this should change.' "

Mascot critics point to how the NCAA name and logo can mingle with American Indian nicknames and imagery, especially in championships settings.

"Institutions choose a public symbol to represent them," said Illinois English professor Carol Spindel, author of the book "Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy over American Indian Mascots." "Here, higher education is using a symbol that offends students, student-athletes, faculty and staff. And they're not just flying it from the statehouse, as in the case of the Confederate flag. Student-athletes are wearing it, institution presidents are wearing it." Spindel noted that during NCAA tournaments, those images are next to the NCAA logo and shown on NCAA broadcasts.

Cyd Crue of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media draws a direct parallel between the NCAA name and logo and that of the schools using American Indian imagery.

"It is the same issue as the Confederate flag," she said. "The flag celebrates slavery. These American Indian images celebrate racism and manifest destiny."

Crue said the tie is actually closer because NCAA institutions promote and NCAA student-athletes wear the images at NCAA events.

"For the NCAA to ignore this means it supports institutional racism," she said. "We need to replace these images with those that unite campuses without excluding anyone."

Charles Whitcomb, chair of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC) and faculty athletics representative at San Jose State University, articulated MOIC's opposition to American Indian mascots in The NCAA News in 1998. Whitcomb still believes the issue should be discussed and acted upon within the NCAA.

"When we discussed this issue (in MOIC) before, many in the NCAA felt at the time that it was an issue that needed to be addressed at the campus level," he said. "I believe that when it comes to championships sponsored by the NCAA, that institutional autonomy argument is no longer present. We can and should make decisions that would limit the use of mascots, nicknames or imagery associated with NCAA championships.

"We need to stop dodging the issue and face it head on. As an Association, we need to do what's right for our membership and for our student-athletes. As an Association, we need to stand up and be counted on this issue because it's an important issue in intercollegiate athletics and in society."

Whitcomb said that the larger issue is how the stereotyping and racist comments -- the so-called "collateral damage" -- affect student-athletes.

"I think you have to ask, 'How does this reflect on our institution? How does this reflect on our student-athletes? Why are we forcing them to wear a uniform that degrades another race? Is this a harmful environment? Is there a harmful effect? It reinforces stereotypes that keep us divided," Whitcomb said.

Indeed, the issue has been divisive, perhaps even more so now that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has called for an end to the use of American Indian mascots and imagery. Some people would question that decree and in fact would support the use of American Indian mascots and imagery. Several such supporters either did not return phone calls or declined to comment for this article.

Clearly, emotions run deep on both sides of the issue, and at stake are traditions in place at several NCAA institutions. And as the voices on either side of the controversy become louder, it may be a matter of which is most heard as to whether those traditions will be retained or revised.