Butterfield

September 10th, 2012 at 8:50 PM ^

Beautiful logo, with the stylized Huron and mid-century modern font.  Overreaction on the part of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission during what can probably be considered the peak of the "political correctness wave" and also very sad that the NCAA now has restrictions against "Native American" related mascots and logos which don't even allow for exceptions when the tribes themselves are supportive, which will prevent wider use of the Hurons name and logo for EMU. 

GoBlueInNYC

September 10th, 2012 at 9:02 PM ^

Is that true that the NCAA won't grant exceptions in cases in which the tribes are supportive? I thought that that was the reason FSU were still the Seminoles (and CMU are still the Chippewas, right?). I thought I remembered reading somewhere that EMU ran into an issue getting enough support from the tribes; some were OK with it and others weren't.

I always thought the Huron logo was really fantastic; it's definitely a shame that they can't use it anymore.

Butterfield

September 10th, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^

You can still keep a Native-American related name, that's a certainty.  But I believe they have limited the imagery that can be used and threatened to disallow participation in championship events if not adhered to.  Illinois had to get rid of Chief Illiniwek because of that, despite members of that community being supportive of the tradition.  Does FSU still use the Seminole on the war horse?  If they do, I wonder what distinction was made as to why one was allowed and the other wasn't.....

From wikipedia (yeah, wikipedia, but still):

The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy, having been relocated to Oklahoma in the 19th century. The position of the tribal leadership has evolved over the years. In a television interview with WICD-TV in 1995, Don Giles, then Chief of the Peoria Tribe, said, "To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We are proud. We're proud that the University of Illinois, the flagship university of the state, a seat of learning, is drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us?" Supporting Chief Giles was another tribal elder, Ron Froman, who stated that the protesters "don't speak for all Native Americans, and certainly not us."[10] 

wigeon

September 10th, 2012 at 9:24 PM ^

similar comments from the only recognized band of displaced "Hurons" in Oklahoma.  The name change was particularly bothersome for me, as two people very close to me were very influential/instrumental in the change.

Neither had a sniff of skin in the game, other than perpetually championing other causes for which they had no business being involved. And they still do this sort of shit. The "Let's boycott Ford, because they don't contribute to WIld Horse Preservation and still sell Mustangs" sort of nonsensical institutional hostaging.  

Female tenured faculty at Eastern make 80% what their male counterparts do - THAT'S an injustice and something worthy of protesting and trying to affect change.  

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

September 10th, 2012 at 10:37 PM ^

""Our stance has always been we didn't see it as anything but an honor to the Hurons and Wyandottes," said Billy Friend, chief of the Oklahoma-based Wyandotte Nation, the only federally recognized band that was once in Michigan and known as Hurons. "We never saw it as demeaning." - from the article

I suppose this is what always puzzled me about the change - I still remember that EMU did this in the absence of any real issues raised from the Native American community, and that never made any sense to me. You would think that, if they saw it as an honor, that was sufficient reason to keep it - if they saw it as recognition of the state's history, then the school would be honored to help provide a connection to that past. 

I understand the practical reason behind it - to garner the support of alumni who have long refused to give a dime until the Huron was reintroduced in some form, but that it was done seemingly  unnecessarily and in the absence of real controversy from the people who could have genuinely stirred controversry makes me think that Eastern did that to themselves more than anything else. It seems clear that the school  didn't do  the one thing it probably should have done before it abandoned part of its identity - ask the Huron nation how they felt about using "The Hurons". 

cmadler

September 11th, 2012 at 6:27 AM ^

The Huron and Michigan Normal logos are inside the uniform, covered by a flap, behind a zipper and two buttons. The only way they can be seen if if a band member opens their jacket.

A lot of the news headlines were pretty misleading, and apparently some people thought the university had changed the mascot back!

Wolverine Devotee

September 11th, 2012 at 8:28 AM ^

Good for them. Screw political correctness.

miami redskins, north dakota sioux, emu hurons, arkansas state indians.