Race Hustle Busted: Offensive Sports Teams
Why Do White Liberals Insist On Erasing Indigenous Culture?
I must’ve been ten or eleven years old.
Which puts us around 1994. It was just another day as I walked to my elementary school classroom.
As I approached the door, my ears perked at the faint sound of a tube television.
Other students giggled as they trickled in, realizing it was movie day while the teacher uncased the VHS tape, or LaserDisc, whatever it was.
We knew we were most likely in for a PBS special, no doubt, yet welcomed any break from the daily grind of math problems and awkwardly reading aloud.
Of course, I can’t recall the name of the documentary in question, but I remember the message well:
You are racist. The local college is racist, and our entire community identity is racist.
Although not in so many words, that was the message received.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou
That “racist community” was Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, home of the University of Illinois, the controversial “Fighting Illini” athletic program, and the man himself, Chief Illiniwek.
Hundreds of years ago, Illinois and the surrounding area were home to many tribes, such as the Kickapoo, Peoria, and Michigamea.
These tribes, like most, alternated between bouts of peace and war throughout history.
Eventually, to defend against larger traveling war parties and colonists, they formed an alliance called the “Illinoyah.”
As French settlers heavily influenced the area over the following years, the name eventually evolved into what we now call “Illinois.”
So you don’t need to pronounce the ‘s.’
In 1867, the year Mitch McConnel was born, The University of Illinois opened for enrollment, naming their sports teams the “Fighting Illini” in honor of the area’s history, calling the school’s representative “Chief Illiniwek.”
Hold up, is Timothy Olyphant a time traveler?
Anyway, in 1926, two Eagle Scouts who studied tribal lore and dance created a unique performance for the Chief, who appeared at halftime dressed in an authentic costume with a headdress of eagle feathers made by descendants of the Sioux tribe.
On October 30, 1926, the Chief concluded his debut performance by meeting the U of I drum major at the 50-yard line, who was dressed as the opposing team’s mascot, the University of Pennsylvania’s Quaker, and offered him a peace pipe.
The Quaker accepted the gift, and they walked off the field arm in arm.
Not exactly hooligan culture.
In 1980, Jack Davis of Champaign designed the “Davis” symbol.
Although the school honored Native American history, and regional tribes supported their portrayal in sports, it’s fair to assume at least a few people in the American Indian community took offense.
Yet, as progressive attitudes expanded at the university and nationally, anti-Chief sentiment grew with support from activist groups like the NAACP.
Still, members of the Peoria tribe, the closest living descendants of the Illinoyah, said they didn’t have a problem with the mascot:
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? -Don Giles, former Chief, Peoria Tribe
Around that time, The Honor the Chief Society and Students for the Chief were founded.
Our mission was to educate the University community about the importance of recognizing the state's Native American history. -Honor The Chief Foundation
Unfortunately, after years of activism and pressure from the NCAA, the school folded, retiring the Davis symbol, replicas of the Chief, and Dan Maloney would conclude Chief Illiniwek's 81-year reign on February 21, 2007, in a game against Michigan.
While the school retained the name “Fighting Illini,” any semblance of Native American culture is viewed as racist by many former and current students and locals.
They even banned the marching band’s famous War Chant song, which hyped athletes, students, and fans for years.
Today, the school and community are stripped of their identity, and many people look at the Davis symbol like a swastika.
While there’s no return of the Chief in sight, the school considered replacing him with the Belted Kingfisher, a native bird of the area whose females are orange and blue.
Sad!
Of course, the U of I isn’t the only sports team to face controversy.
A far better-known example is the Washington Redskins.
Like the Illini, the Redskins faced protests over the years, with an increase during the 2020 summer of love.
Yet a 2016 Washington Post poll found nine in ten Native Americans aren’t offended by the Redskins name, which has similar results to a 2004 study.
A position shared by Mark One Wolf Yancey, a descendent of the Chiricuah Apache tribe, Washington DC native, lifetime Redskins fan, and board member for the Native American Guardians Association, who spoke out, saying Redskins opposition doesn’t speak for the American Indian community.
Being a native of the DC area, he thought perhaps he was biased.
So, he sought the peers who claimed to be offended by Native American representation in sports.
They were few and far between.
As did Billy Diekman, a descendent of the Oklahoma Kiowa tribe, USMC veteran, and director of NAGA Midwest:
Like Illinois, the Redskins didn’t just whip up an icon or mascot without thought.
The former Redskins logo depicts an actual American Indian, Chief White Calf of the Blackfoot tribe.
Again, like Illinois, the Redskins caved to the mob, officially renaming the club to the Washington Commanders in 2020.
Once again, “advocacy” groups sterilized another community of American Indian culture, further erasing their history and representation as a whole.
But organizations like the Native American Guardians Association continue to fight back.
In June of this year, they created an online petition called ‘Change The Commanders Back To The Washington Redskins',’ collecting 133,640 signatures as I write this, with a goal of 150,000.
You don’t have to create an account if you want to sign.
The petition reads:
The name "Redskins" carries deep cultural, historical, and emotional significance, honoring the bravery, resilience, and warrior spirit associated with Native American culture. It was never intended as a derogatory or offensive term but as a symbol of respect and admiration. Changing the name abruptly disregards the positive legacy that the Redskins name has built over the years and disorients the passionate fans who have invested their emotions, time, and unwavering support in the team. -Native American Guardians Association
In response, a representative from the Washington Commanders texted a former luxury seat holder, which became public:
You understand the people that started this petition is a fake group, right? -Commanders Rep
Now, NAGA is suing the team for defamation.
Eunice Davidson, Dakota Sioux member, NAGA co-founder, and president, told Fox News, “We’re not a fake group. We’re tribal-enrolled members from tribes across the United States.
NAGA filed the lawsuit on September 25 in North Dakota District Court.
The team has yet to respond publicly.
The Only Thing That Needs To Retire Are Racist Myths
Chief Illiniwek wasn’t disrespectful, offensive, or racist.
You wouldn’t find him flirting with the cheerleaders, chugging beer at tailgate parties, or cursing Michigan, Wisconsin, or Iowa fans at campus bars.
When he came out at halftime, everyone stood up.
Even if the stadium was freezing and would rather watch the game at home, or perhaps not at all, everyone stood to respect the Chief and tradition.
Sadly, by 2006, halftime cheers for the man were drowned out by boos as most fans were brainwashed.
And after the Last Dance the following year, Dan Maloney didn’t throw the uniform in a frat house basement or abandon it in campus storage.
The regalia was transferred to the Oglala Lakota tribe a few years later during a private event because it was an authentic and respected piece of history.
This idea that long-standing traditions are offensive to Native Americans is just another race hustle for a ‘problem’ never intended to be solved.
Even in July of this year, over 15 years since the Chief retired, the Native American Rights fund contacted the University of Illinois because “harmful imagery” still exists on campus, which “undermines the cultural experiences of members of all communities.”
NARF, which works with organizations like the National Congress of American Indians, happens to receive funding by guess who?
George Soros. The same guy paying leftist district attorneys not to prosecute criminals.
You can do everything they demand, and it will never be enough.
After that elementary school documentary ended years ago, there would be no opposing argument to let students reach their own conclusions.
No pro-Chief advocacy groups could visit and tell us that most Native Americans appreciated the school for honoring their culture and history.
So there I sat, a young white boy. I was surrounded by blacks, Asians, and everyone else.
My teacher was a black woman. The principal was a black woman.
In a school that was named after a slavery abolitionist, Thomas Paine.
In a community that would become a sanctuary city.
Where I would go on to middle and high school, where my dean was, yet again, surprise, surprise, a black woman.
My classmates came from Sri Lanka, to China, to Brazil.
Then I went to a college where my black professor would tell me black people can’t be racist because “they don’t have any power to wield.”
Yet somehow, America is “systemically racist?”
Got it.
I can’t believe I paid for that.
But isn’t assuming all Native Americans have the same opinion racist?
And how are the “Washington Commanders” less offensive, given that most military leaders have historically been white men? Many of which killed Native Americans?
Are those that claim to be offended really offended? Or are they just bitter about life with an axe to grind?
Or is this just about creating a platform to control what people say, depict, and think?
We’ve been told we’re racist and have lived in a racist country our whole lives.
Yet the only people I see defaming and denying American Indian culture are rich white liberals.
If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you, and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys. – Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, British Columbia, Canada
For more information, visit www.nagaeducation.org.
Great work again Greg, well done!!