"From Lame Deer, Mont., on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, comes another complaint about a sports nickname and logo perceived by some as insensitive.

No, this one isn’t about UND.

Despite “all the stories, all the talk and all the controversy over UND’s ‘Fighting Sioux’ moniker, as an Indian … I find much more offense in NDSU’s ‘Bison’ mascot,” Joe Abbot wrote in a letter published in the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

“The buffalo was sacred to my people,” he wrote. “It was our food, our shelter, our religion and it was life itself. How dare a white man’s university take our deity and make it a sports team mascot?

“NDSU should change its mascot name out of respect to an animal the Great Spirit gave to my people. He is not a sports mascot; he is not a marketing gimmick to make wealthy people richer. The buffalo is above today’s corrupt commercial world. He is not an asset to be exploited; he is an icon to be cherished and respected.”

Is the letter legitimate, or is it a prank — a diversionary tactic, perhaps, offered up by a defender of the Sioux logo, someone weary of the long-simmering debate over the nickname’s propriety and future?"

Get the Story:
Letter to the Editor states ‘Bison’ mascot is more offensive than 'Fighting Sioux' moniker (The Grand Forks Herald 9/10)
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