Bluebells and maize

November 18th, 2015 at 7:32 PM ^

Serious question since languages don't always have a direct apples to apples correlation when interpreted.  Are "snake" and "enemy" words that have primarily negative connotations in the Ojibwe language?  In some cultures, for example, snakes are revered.  Similarly with "enemy", I think to some the word could carry an indication of a worthy adversary (like the complex relationship between Bo and Woody).  I don't have a dog in this fight and for all I care, they could be the Fighting North Dakotans of North Dakota.  Just interested by the point you raised about the word "Sioux"

BornSinner

November 18th, 2015 at 7:36 PM ^

But there is some question as to whether North Dakota’s two Sioux tribes gave approval to the university in 1969 to change the school’s nickname from the Sioux to the Fighting Sioux. It seems both tribes supported the name change in religious ceremonies.

By 2008, the NCAA and the University of North Dakota settled the lawsuit with the school, agreeing to retire The Fighting Sioux name unless it received approval from both the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes by the end of 2010. The university got half a loaf: Spirit Lake affirmed the name in a two-to-one vote, but Standing Rock (which had for years demanded that the name be banished to history books) said no. A non-Sioux nation in the state, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, also said no.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/26/the-native-americans-w…

Reader71

November 19th, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^

Fair enough, but I think that example is actually the worst you could use. Because it is the original location of humanity, people have been there the longest, meaning there has been the greatest chance of land dispossession.

A better example would be wherever the most recent migrations have been. Say, Australia. The aborigines seem to be autochthonous, even if it is possible that they conquered an unknown, earlier people. There has been settlement there for a long, long time, but it seems likely that the aborigines are descendants of those earlier peoples, not conquerors. There is no archaeological record of distinct civilizations dying out, contrary to other areas like, say, Greenland.

Gulogulo37

November 19th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^

By that logic, there's nothing wrong with us killing every single Mexican and taking Mexico.

The stupidity here is kind of incredible. You do realize the Terrelle Pryor quote about how "Everyone murders" is supposed to be funny because it's insane, right? Not because it actually makes sense and justifies genocide.

Baldbill

November 19th, 2015 at 7:31 AM ^

Using the Big G word...not really what happened. A pre-industrial society came into contact with some stone age societies, that had been cut off from the rest of the population for 15k years. Technology, disease, and a culture that was unable to adapt did in every tribe. It wasn't done so purposefully as you imply.

 

bluepow

November 19th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^

What we did to native cultures in this country was purposeful and stratigized.  It is what it is, but don't sugar-coat it.  It was violent and bent on elimination through re-education of those that were not killed.

Back to my original point all these arguments about names are so silly when these simple facts is still not accepted by the population at large.

Jack Hammer

November 18th, 2015 at 7:20 PM ^

On November 25, 1930, following a unanimous vote by the Executive Committee for the Associated Students, the athletic department adopted the mascot "Indian." The Indian symbol and name were later dropped by President Richard Lyman in 1972, after objections from Native American students and a vote by the student senate.
 
From 1972 to 1981, the official nickname was the Cardinals, a reference to the color, not the bird. During the 1970s, a number of suggestions were put forth as possible nicknames: Robber Barons (a sly reference to Leland Stanford's history), Sequoias, Trees, Railroaders, Spikes, Huns and Griffins. The last suggestion gained enough momentum to prompt the university to place two griffin statues near the athletic facilities.
 
On November 17, 1981, school president Donald Kennedy declared that the athletic teams be represented by the color cardinal in its singular form.