"The recent articles about exceptional American Indian artist Bennett Brien, who created the University of North Dakota Indian symbol, is instructive and shows how closed-minded are those who take offense at the symbol and the UND sports team nickname Sioux, sometimes expanded to Fighting Sioux. (The Forum, Aug. 24). Brien is the artist who created the outstanding metal sculptures of the bison and the horse on the state Capitol grounds.

The same articles quoted an academic who opposes use of the symbol because of the “context” and other politically correct gobbledygook regarding its use with the sports teams. She and a small coterie of American Indian activists – who felt it necessary to hire a New York lawyer to press a lawsuit about how offended they are – together with the Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman have convinced the state Board of Higher Education and a number of others to abandon the symbol and nickname.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman says he is offended by the symbol and name and had the courage to impose his personal conviction on the rest of his tribe, but not the courage to allow the tribal members to vote on the issue. In the vernacular, the offendees could be considered control freaks."

Get the Story:
Thomas A. Mayer: Sad to see proud heritage consigned to history books (The Fargo Forum 9/4)

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