Tribe rejects Fighting Sioux nickname

FORT TOTTEN, N.D. — Members of the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe have voted to oppose the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

Opponents of the school's nickname and Indian-head logo packed a tribal administrative building Tuesday night and presented a draft resolution calling for change.

"(The tribe) finds that the use of the Fighting Sioux and Sioux names by the University of North Dakota is both dishonorable and an affront to the dignity and well being of the members of Spirit Lake," the resolution read.

The matter is expected to go next to the Spirit Lake's tribal council for formal adoption.

North Dakota officials have said the school had support from the Spirit Lake tribe to use the nickname. But former tribal chairman Skip Longie said that authorization, granted to the university in 2000, came with a string of conditions, including required sensitivity courses for all incoming freshmen and visits to all of North Dakota's Indian reservations.

"To my understanding, I don't think the university has done any of those things," Longie said.

Tuesday's strong showing of tribal opposition came on the same day that North Dakota issued a formal appeal to an NCAA decision barring the school from hosting tournaments or wearing Indian-related imagery in the postseason after Feb. 1.