Fighting Sioux backers hand in petitions

BISMARCK, N.D. — Is it the return of the Fighting Sioux? Supporters of the University of North Dakota's nickname turned in more than 17,000 signatures Tuesday night to cap a petition drive to force a statewide vote on a moniker the NCAA says is insulting to American Indians.

Campaign organizers said they had gathered far more than the 13,452 signatures needed to put a question before voters in June.

Reed Soderstrom, chairman of the referendum campaign, said organizers counted 17,213 names. The petitions were delivered to Secretary of State Al Jaeger's office about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Jaeger planned to check the count Wednesday. He has 35 days to review the petition and decide whether it is sufficient to qualify for the ballot.

Archie Fool Bear, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and Eunice Davidson, a member of the Spirit Lake Sioux, said the work of gathering names was exhausting.

"We worked in the cold weather. We froze. But even though we went through all that, it was really an experience, learning how to do this," Davidson said.

Residents of the Spirit Lake Sioux reservation in northeastern North Dakota endorsed the nickname's continued use in a reservation referendum. The Standing Rock tribe had no referendum, and its tribal council has long opposed the name.

"Members on our reservation are going to have a chance to vote on this," Fool Bear said.

Jaeger said the petitions alone are enough to temporarily revive a law that requires UND teams to be known as the Fighting Sioux.

The name and an American Indian head logo have already been scrubbed from university websites and removed from some school team uniforms to head off NCAA sanctions, which include a ban on hosting postseason games or fielding teams in postseason play with the logo or nickname on uniforms.

Faced with the probable signature-gathering success by Fighting Sioux supporters, university officials and members of the state Board of Higher Education said Tuesday they had no plans to immediately restore the nickname.

The measure does not include any penalty if UND or the board ignores its directive, and Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, the Republican majority leader in the North Dakota House and chief sponsor of the legislation, said he did not support one.