Chief Illiniwek facts for kids

The Chief Illiniwek logo

A performance of Chief Illiniwek at a football game in 2006

Chief Illiniwek was the mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the university's intercollegiate athletic programs, from October 30, 1926, to February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake, although the regalia worn was from the Sioux. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches.

For more than two decades, Chief Illiniwek had been the center of a controversy between fans and alumni who view the mascot as part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tradition; while Native American individuals and organizations, social scientists, and educators view such mascots as cultural appropriation of indigenous images and rituals, which perpetuate stereotypes about American Indian peoples. In 2005, Chief Illiniwek was one of 19 mascots cited as "hostile or abusive" by the NCAA in a policy that banned schools from full participation in postseason activities as long as they continued to use such mascots.

The University of Illinois retired Chief Illiniwek in 2007, with his last official performance on February 21, 2007. UIUC has not selected a replacement. A non-binding resolution to make "Alma Otter" the official mascot was placed on the spring 2019 student election ballot, but failed to receive a majority, although some see the vote as a sign of progress. In 2020 the belted kingfisher received a majority of student votes as a possible new mascot. In September 2020 the University Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the kingfisher as the new mascot, voting 105 to 2 with 4 abstaining. Support is building on campus for the kingfisher, but as of December, 2022 many alumni are opposed to the new mascot, and several online petitions continue to advocate for the return of Chief Illiniwek.

Supporters of Chief Illiniwek sometimes object to the use of the term "mascot", and instead refer to the Chief as a "symbol" of the university.

Background

Chief Illiniwek and the Chief Illiniwek logo—a stylized front view of an American Indian face and headdress—are trademarks of the University of Illinois. Licensed use of the logo by the university has been increasingly restrictive as a result of the ongoing controversy. Chief Illiniwek is not based on an actual American Indian chief, nor did a historical figure with this name ever exist.

Since he performed many of the functions of other schools' mascots, Chief Illiniwek is generally referred to as the university's mascot in media reporting and academic sources regarding the controversy. Chief Illiniwek predates the use of mascots by most sports teams, adding strength to the claim that the portrayal was never a mascot at all. In the final years he did not perform at road games, since other Big Ten universities refused to allow the character to perform at their home games, citing him as offensive.

During sporting events, Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student selected via audition and wearing authentic Lakota (Sioux) clothing. The portrayal also included a dance that originated from the first three portrayers' experience in the Boy Scouts of America, as taught by Ralph Hubbard, who had traveled widely in Europe and America staging "Indian pageants". This dance corresponded to the music and lyrics of the "Three in One" performed by the university band, which is an arrangement of three original songs entitled "The March of the Illini", "Hail to the Orange", and "Pride of the Illini".

History

The origin of Chief Illiniwek dates to 1926, when Ray Dvorak, assistant director of bands at the University of Illinois, conceived the idea of having a Native American war dance performed during halftime of Illinois football games. The first performance occurred on October 30, 1926 at Memorial Stadium during the halftime of a game against the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of his performance, Illinwek was met at midfield by a drum major dressed as the University of Pennsylvania's Quaker mascot, offered a peace pipe, and walked off the field arm in arm. Student Lester Leutwiler, an Eagle Scout, created the original costume and performed the dance based upon his experience as a Boy Scout. The expression Illiniwek (meaning "the complete human being - the strong, agile human body, and the indomitable human spirit") was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois football team by football coach Bob Zuppke, referring to the Illinois Confederation of Native Americans who historically had inhabited much of present-day Illinois.

Another student, A. Webber Borchers, was the only Chief to ride on horseback around the field and solidified the Chief tradition, continuing the performances and soliciting contributions for a permanent costume in 1930. Since then, the costume has been replaced several times, most recently in 1982. The current costume was sold to the university marching band by Frank Fools Crow, chief of the Oglala Sioux (a nation unrelated to the Illiniwek), after being sewn by his wife. He visited the campus in 1982 to present the regalia during halftime of a football game at the request of then-Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands Gary Smith. The costume contained real eagle feathers, but because eagle feathers are sacred to Native Americans, and because they came from a species protected by the Lacey Act of 1900, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (1940), the Migratory Bird Act, and at that time the Endangered Species Act, the feathers in the headdresses worn by the Chief were replaced with dyed turkey feathers after requests from the family of Chief Fools Crow.

A total of 36 different students officially performed the role of the Chief. All but one have been men: one woman, Idelle (Stith) Brooks, served in 1943 due to the shortage of male students during World War II; she was called "Princess Illiniwek." No student portraying Chief Illiniwek was of American Indian heritage during the 82 year span, although Brooks, a journalism major who had grown up on the Osage Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma, was described as an "honorary princess of the Osage Indian tribe". Brooks weighed 90 pounds and her Chief regalia weighed 50.

The actual descendants of the Illiniwek opposed the Chief (see Controversy, below). Whereas, when in May 1995, a WICD reporter interviewed members of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Chief Don Giles said, "We do not have a problem with the mascot.", by 2000, the tribal council, under a new chief, passed a resolution opposing the use of the Chief by the university. On January 17, 2007, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council, issued a resolution asking that the University of Illinois return the regalia to the family of Frank Fools Crow and cease the use of the Chief Illiniwek mascot. The resolution was delivered to the university's Board of Trustees, UI President B. Joseph White, and Chancellor Richard Herman. The campus' Native American House was authorized by the Oglala Sioux to distribute the resolution to the public.

The Chief appeared at the University's homecoming parade and pep rally until 1991.

Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini

Some have incorrectly linked Chief Illiniwek with the nickname Fighting Illini. Though many assume that both are based on Illinois' American Indian traditions, the name Illini was first associated with the school by the student newspaper, which in 1874 changed its name from The Student to The Illini.

The addition of the adjective "fighting" originated about five years before the appearance of Chief Illiniwek, as a tribute to Illinois soldiers killed in World War I. Similarly, the on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, was named in honor of those fallen soldiers. As stated above, the NCAA has exempted the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" from its ban on American Indian imagery, as these names are purely based on the name of the state, and not a Native American tribe.

The state of Illinois was named by French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes which thrived in the area.

The word Illiniwek or iliniwek is the plural form of ilinwe and means "those who speak in the ordinary way," although it has often been mistranslated as "tribe of superior men."

Retiring Chief Illiniwek

On February 16, 2007, Lawrence Eppley, chair of the board of trustees issued a unilateral ruling retiring Chief Illiniwek. Chief Illiniwek's last performance, by the final Chief, Dan Maloney of Galesburg, Illinois, took place on February 21, 2007 at the last men's home basketball game of the 2006–2007 regular season against Michigan, in Assembly Hall. As at the time, Chief Illiniwek also performed at women's home basketball games, the first halftime performance without the portrayal of Chief Illiniwek was the following night, February 22, 2007, at the women's basketball game against Michigan State.

On March 13, 2007, the University of Illinois board of trustees voted to retire Illiniwek's name, image and regalia.

In February 2007, the National Congress of American Indians thanked the University and commended them for retiring Chief Illiniwek.

After retirement

On October 4, 2009, the University of Illinois gave the Chief Illiniwek regalia to the Oglala Lakota. The media were denied entry to this event, which was called a "private function" by Associate Director of Athletics Dana Brenner. The university did not offer a public statement about the return.

Students and fans still chant "Chief" during the performance of Three In One during halftime. Since neither the NCAA nor the university have any control over what the fans chant, opposition groups have called to additionally ban the Three In One performance.

In April 2014, an indigenous student, Xochitl Sandoval, sent a letter to the university administration (which she also posted on her Facebook page) describing the daily insults she felt due to the continued presence of "The Chief" on campus, including other students wearing the old image and name on sweatshirts and the continued "unofficial" performances by the current "Chief", Ivan A. Dozier. She stated that these thoughts came as a result of her feeling that she had no recourse because the university had not enforced its own policies regarding racism and the creation of a hostile environment for indigenous students such as herself; but had instead stated her only recourse would be personal action. Soon afterward there was a gathering on the Quad organized by the president of the Native American Indigenous Student Organization in support of Sandoval, and calling for further action by the University to eliminate the presence of the Chief on campus. The Campus Faculty Association (CFA) also issued a statement in support of Sandoval.

In May 2016, the university announced that a process was underway to select a "first-ever athletic mascot" for the university—the phrase evidently recognizing the argument by some Chief supporters that the Chief was not a mascot but a "symbol."

In August 2017, University Chancellor Robert Jones made the decision to ban the school's "War Chant", in response to critic claims that said the music stereotyped Native Americans and prolonged the divisive debate over Chief Illiniwek. ""Debating it was not going to do anything but kind of re-initiate a lot of the agony and the angst that have been a cancer that has been eating away at this university for more than a decade," Jones said of the closed-session ruling.

Later in 2017, a protest interrupted the school's homecoming parade in response to the Unofficial chief marching with the Honor the Chief Society. Though touted as “peaceful”, both the Chancellor and the Chief portrayer were escorted away by police after an officer was assaulted on the hood of the Chancellor’s car. As of 2017, no one had been charged or held responsible. The following morning, a number of members of one Sioux nation hosted a powwow on campus bearing a banner reading "The Fighting Sioux Support the Fighting Illini". These performers were part of an organization known as NAGA (Native American Guardians Association). "...the idea is to educate, not eradicate, and the idea is to improve what you have but never give up the opportunity to teach about Native Americanism." said Andre Billeaudeaux, executive director of NAGA.

Proposed replacement mascots

The belted kingfisher has been proposed as a replacement mascot

UIUC has not yet selected a replacement. A non-binding resolution to make "Alma Otter" the official mascot was placed on the spring 2019 student election ballot, but failed to receive a majority, although some saw the vote as a sign of progress. In 2020 the belted kingfisher received a majority of student votes as a possible new mascot. In September 2020 the University Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the kingfisher as the new mascot, voting 105 to 2 with 4 abstaining.

The belted kingfisher, a bird local to Illinois whose female is orange and blue, has been proposed as a replacement mascot. The kingfisher as a mascot has been endorsed by the American Indian Center of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune editorial board, and the Champaign Audubon Society. In December 2022, the National Congress of American Indians endorsed efforts to find a replacement mascot, though the kingfisher was not explicitly mentioned. Supporters of the Kingfisher have dubbed the bird "naturally true to the orange and blue."

Selection of unofficial chief portrayers

In April 2008, the "Council of Chiefs", a group of previous Chief Illiniwek performers, named a student to portray the chief, although this portrayal is not sanctioned or endorsed by the university. Logan Ponce, a Latino student, was chosen as the 37th portrayer. Ponce expressed the ultimate goal of returning the Chief to the university. "It's unique to Illinois and has been such an important part of our history," he said. "It's part of our heritage. We look forward to continuing it."

In May 2010 the Students for Chief Organization chose a new student to serve as the 38th chief portrayer: Ivan A. Dozier, who is of Cherokee ancestry. Dozier performed as Chief at the "Next Dance" event over homecoming weekend at the university in 2010. He also appeared in regalia at numerous sporting events throughout the years. Bennett Kamps was select to replace Dozier upon his graduation, with an initial appearance in February, 2016. The current portrayer is Omar Cruz Aranda.

Unofficial performances and events

An event called "Students for Chief Illiniwek Presents: The Next Dance," happened on November 15, 2008 following the football game against Ohio State University, in the Assembly Hall. "We want to do this event on a very exciting day for Illini fans and we want it to be a complement to that day's game," said Roberto Martell Jr., former president of Students for Chief Illiniwek and a junior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. An open letter was sent forth by the Native American House encouraging the entire University community to speak out against the event.

On February 26, 2010 the webpage of Students for Chief Illiniwek posted nearly fifty email correspondences, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, of several members of the university administration attempting to prevent the "Next Dance" portrayals. Parties involved include Renee Romano, Anna Gonzalez, Robert Warrior, and then-Chancellor Richard Herman. The emails include conversations between Romano and Richard Herman appreciating "the fact that we've been trying to get in the way of allowing the students for the chief to perform a dance in the assembly hall and "trying to think of a reason to deny them access to Assembly Hall on Oct. 2." The revelation of free speech violations by the administrators was criticized by free-speech advocates, including the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which currently gives the University of Illinois a yellow light rating.

In October 2012, the Chief made an unsanctioned halftime appearance at Memorial stadium, in the Homecoming football game against Indiana.

In January 2015, an unofficial appearance at Tuscola High School, by former portrayer Ivan A. Dozier, was cancelled. School officials removed the announcement post from social media saying they did not have the time or personnel to address the bad language and personal attacks that were made in the online comments. The School District announced via Twitter that the appearance was cancelled "In order to ensure highest level of student/community safety."

The Council of Chiefs, Students for Chief Illiniwek, and Honor the Chief Society posted events on Facebook encouraging fans to wear "Chief" gear to the basketball game with Purdue on February 22, 2018. Entitled "Paint the Hall Chief", and started by several female members of the community, the posting prompted the university to request that Facebook remove the events due to copyright infringement of the original Chief Illiniwek logo; which Facebook refused to do because the image used is significantly different than the original, constituting legal "fair use". At the game, about 100 protestors assembled at the main entrance to the State Farm Center displaying signs and chanting opposition to the Chief.

University employee Jay Rosenstein was arrested for allegedly stalking and invasion of privacy after he followed Dozier and the current unofficial portrayer of the Chief into a public bathroom at the Assembly Hall on January 22, 2018, and allegedly recorded them in a state of undress. No charges were filed by the states attorney. Dozier filed suit against Rosenstein in January 2019; the judge rejected Rosenstein's motion to dismiss and the lawsuit can proceed.

Chancellor's Commission

The effort to resolve the controversy by the current chancellor, Robert J. Jones has included the work of a committee that issued a report of its "critical conversations" that included over 600 participants representing all sides, which remain sharply divided. The chancellor has appointed a Commission on Native Imagery: Healing and Reconciliation to implement the recommendations of the committee.

In 2019 the Office of the Chancellor issued a report with four goals and recommendations.

1. Provide closure, healing and reconciliation for stakeholders - Recommendations include a formal event recognizing the public retirement of Chief Illiniwek, establishing a plaque or monument outside Memorial Stadium commemorating the history, the original intent of the Chief, and the University’s decision to retire the tradition to better align with current educational perspectives on diversity and inclusion.
2. Facilitate the establishment of new traditions - Engaging all key stakeholders in identifying new tradition(s) such as music, symbols, branding, marketing, or a mascot that do not rely upon Native American images or traditions.
3. Remember the history of the Chief with a focus on both the intent and impact of the tradition - Development of an historically accurate account documenting the Illini, Fighting Illini, and Chief Illiniwek.
4. Honor and partner with the Native Nations for whom Illinois is their ancestral home

Both sides of the debate immediately criticized the report. Pro-chief members of the commission characterized the exclusion of Native American imagery from future traditions as "discriminatory" while opponents view the Chief as a racist past that should be not be commemorated.

Subsequent to the release of the commission report, several dozen current and former faculty (out of over 2,000 on campus) signed a letter urging the NCAA to once again prohibit the UI from hosting postseason competitions until it “fully complies” with NCAA policies on the use of native imagery in sports. The continued presence of the Chief's image on campus and the use of the nickname "Fighting Illini" were cited as examples of policy violations. Chancellor Jones responded that these were not violations.

Implementation Plan on Native Imagery

In December 2020 chancellor Robert J. Jones announced the Implementation Plan on Native Imagery, a set of reforms planned for the following three years. These included expanding the school's American Indian Studies program, repatriating sacred artifacts to indigenous people, offering in-state tuition to students from federally recognized tribal nations, having a campus historian develop an accurate history of the school's use of Native American symbols, and creating a council to develop new traditions for the student body. The plan does not address the adoption of a new sports mascot, or the possibility of changing the name of the Fighting Illini sports teams.

Official Chief portrayal list

*Stith portrayed "Princess Illiniwek".

Unofficial Chief portrayal list

See also

• Peoria (tribe)
• Native American Mascot Controversy
• List of sports team names and mascots derived from Indigenous peoples
• List of ethnic sports team and mascot names (all ethnicities)

Films

• Chief Video Documentary - The Chief & The Tradition
• In Whose Honor? - Jay Rosenstein Productions (1997)