Monday, October 29, 2007
Louise Erdrich (Jury Member)
My name is Louise Erdrich. I am a Native American author. I write novels, poetry, and children's books. I am a member of the Anishinaabe nation. I am 53 years old and was born in Little Falls, Minnesota. My grandfather served as a tribal chairman for the Turtle Mountain Band Of Chippewa Indians. My parents taught at the Bureau of Indian Affairs school. I went to Dartmouth College where I met my husband, Michal Dorris who was the director of the college's Native American Studies program. I currently live in Minneapolis, MN and recently turned down an honorary degree from UND because of the mascot issue. I turned it down because I believe that having their mascot a Sioux Indian is very disrespectful to the tribes. I think that changes need to be made in order to respect the tribes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I totally agree with you. I do not think this logo should be allowed.
How is this disrespectful? These people are trying to honor the founders of their land. They are called the fighting sioux becuase they fight for what they believe in. Thats what sports are. Everyone fights becuase they think they are the best. It's going back to fighting in battle which im sure they did. how is that different.
I completly agree with your thoughts on this issue and it is very disrespectful to the the tribes, as a memeber of the AIM, I am standing strong for my beliefs and think that there is plently of other names/mascots they can make to represent their sports teams in a way that we are not being harmed. We want respect.
I agree that there is some disrespect to the mascot name, yet having a specific Native American name can give some notice to the underlying subject. Now there is nothing too racist about the nickname and if there was some racial slur in the name, then we would have to have more of a concern with the people who came up with the name at the start of all of this.
Recently, you have turned down a scholarship to UND because of the mascot issue. Being Native American, wouldn't you be proud to know that NDU is one of the top in the country with a Native American population? Here is a direct quote from their website, "The University of North Dakota at Grand Forks includes in its mission the goal of being one of the leading institutions in the nation in enrolling American Indian students and in providing programs and services on behalf of the American Indian citizens." I hope you will re-think your thoughts about this issue.
THANK YOU LOUISE!
I've been waiting to find someone who agrees with me, or at least I think you do. When you say "changes" do you mean like banning the mascot all together or keeping it but editing the Fighting Sioux so they accurately detail the positive Native culture?
-Gunther Foy
I would of done the same thing and turned down UND because of the unattended mascot issue. Way to go! There are so many other things you could rename the team and mascot as.
Ollie Young Bear
I would of done the same thing and turned down UND because of the unattended mascot issue. Way to go! There are so many other things you could rename the team and mascot as.
Ollie Young Bear
This is not a respect issue! This is not about people disrespecting Indians! This is about a college sports team having a mascot that they have always had, and continue to hold in high esteem. I LOVE being a Fighting Sioux. I never thought to myself "this propels the harmful stereotypes of Native Americans". Instead, I think: the Fighting Sioux represent the strength of our team! Got it?! It REPRESENTS OUR SCHOOL, OUR STUDENTS, not Native Americans. love you louise! xoxo
Post a Comment