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| Will the Drum and Feather disappear? |
The time was 1970. Stanford University, which had been using the imagery of a Native American as its mascot since 1930, began to feel pressure from unhappy students and protestors claiming the logo was racially insensitive. Students on campus began a petition process to effect change and bring about a new mascot for the university. By 1972, Stanford made the change official and have since adopted the use of...you guessed it...a tree. I'll take Irony for 500, Alex.University of North Dakota President Robert Kelley said just two weeks ago that his university, nicknamed The Fighting Sioux, needed to move forward on a name change of its own. Racial sensitivities were again on the docket. Kelley argued that the change must be made "for the success of the university and the success of our student athletes." If you can tell me how exactly changing the mascot of a university will accomplish that, be my guest.
Florida State, Illinois, and a few other colleges around the country have been criticized for overtly racist logos and imagery. What about the Runnin' Utes of Utah? For those unaware, the Utes are a Native American tribe located in Utah and surrounding areas. The Native American imagery around the Utah campus has waned over the years. Swoop, a hawk, is now the school's official mascot. Are bigger changes on the horizon?
Will the Utes go the way of Stanford and North Dakota before them? As the newest member of the liberal-leaning Pac-12, one can certainly see the path to Ute disavowal. There is good new for fans of the "Ute" nickname, however. Like Florida State before them, who have the support of the local Seminole tribe in regards to the nickname, the Ute tribe supports the name usage as well.
How will the future unfold? Do you see a time when the Utah disavows its association with the nickname "Utes?" Would you welcome the change?
5 comments:
Great article Zach. I have heard that the school pays tens of thousands of dollars a year to the Ute tribe to use the name.
Thank you. Whatever situation the University has worked out with the local Ute tribe is a good one, so long as the nickname continues to have a place in athletics.
Agreed. Utah has to keep the drum-and-feather and the Utes nickname. BTW, the picture above is one I took of a Utah shirt in a department store and sent to Zach because I thought it was strange.
I'm fully convinced that the U knows this one is coming... No real facts to back it up, just knowing that the PAC has the upper hand over the U and knowing that those "types" of schools don't like nicknames or mascots such as the U possesses. If it happens, they absolutely knew about it long before they became a member of the conference.
I really enjoyed this article. It is always nice when you read some thing that is not only informative but entertaining.
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