The City Beat woke up this morning to the headline blaring across the front page with my Fighting Sioux nickname story under it. I’m starting to get embarrassed at how much play we give these stories and by we, I mean the Herald and WDAZ. Every twist, every turn, every twitch, me and Steve Bodakowski are there. Last night, WDAZ did the TV equivalent of the blaring headline by making the first, what, five minutes of the newscast all about the nickname.
I was already starting to feel this during one of the occasional feeding frenzies where I’d have something, and then WDAZ would have to have something the next night, and then I’d have to have something, and then they’d have to have something. One night, I was talking to a new acquaintance who said he or she, I forget who it was, recognized my name from the paper and that I write a lot of stories, but he or she never reads those nickname stories any more. I had to laugh, but I was kind of crying inside.
So I’m going to keep this as short as I can and encourage us to keep these stories off the front page unless it’s something really earth shattering.
Steve and I were in Minot yesterday because the State Board of Higher Education was holding a meeting in which Chancellor Bill Goetz would report on his meeting with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Charles W. Murphy. It’s clear from the SBHE’s tone in past meetings that they were this close to retiring the nickname and if Murphy didn’t say there would be a referendum in a month, the SBHE really would pull the trigger.
Except that lawsuit will keep their fingers off the trigger until sometime past the Dec. 9 hearing. If the lawsuit succeeds, they’ll have to wait until Nov. 30, 2010, the deadline in the settlement between the state and the NCAA.
Goetz told the board that, essentially, nothing was happening with the referendum at Standing Rock, and he implied that Murphy was beginning to oppose the nickname because it’s so "very, very divisive." Many nickname supporters actually thought Murphy supported the nickname.
So I pulled aside two board members from Grand Forks, Duiane Espegard and Grant Shaft, and asked them for their impression and it was the same as mine: There’s no movement, which pretty much means the Oct. 31 deadline by which some there should be some sign of movement probably ought to stand.
Then, I decided that, even though I never get a good interview from Chairman Murphy — he gives the impression of someone so busy with the business of government he can barely stop to talk — I better just try and pin him down on some particulars, one of which was: Did you really refuse to put a nickname referendum on the agenda? That would confound the expectations of nickname supporters.
The chairman said that’s not it at all. "It’s going to be the people that will do it. It’s not me." He then said something like "the administration locked it up with…" I asked him to elaborate and he kind of apologized, explaining that he knows where I’m coming from as a reporter but he couldn’t really talk much.
"I just don’t want to wreck anything that’s going on between the state and us," he said. I asked him to elaborate on that, but he didn’t want to either.
This is not the kind of thing a man involved in the sort of impasse the chancellor describe would say. In an impasse, there would be nothing between either side.
As I was writing the story, it dawned on me that this was really the tale of the hare and tortoise. When you’re the hare, the tortoise looks like he’s standing still. When you’re the tortoise, you know you’re going as fast as you can.
The SBHE is the hare. It wants this nickname thing wrapped up now and, according to Grant, probably no later than the end of the year because UND wants to, needs to apply to join the Summit League athletic conference, which won’t accept an application until after the nickname thing is settled. So anything that takes a longer than that, say the summer of 2010, is the same as no movement.
The Standing Rock tribe is the tortoise. There’s no doubt that this issue is divisive in some way on the reservation, though I suspect that it’s a lot more divisive on the council than it is among residents. That’s how it seemed at Spirit Lake. It doesn’t really matter because the council is the body that has to approve a referendum and it will take a lot of work on the part of nickname supporters to ensure they get authorization for a referendum. Those supporters are "the people" that Murphy was talking about.
Naturally, the lawsuit by Spirit Lake nickname supporters to delay and erase the SBHE deadline would give the Standing Rock supporters the time that they need.
So, my thinking is that it’s not that there’s no movement, the movement is just much slower than the SBHE would like. Since this is real life and not Aesop‘s, there is no moral to the story yet. There’s no assurance slow and steady will win.
It’s a sad comment on ND society that the nickname controversy has not been resolved with finality after so many years of confrontation, litigation, shouting, and back-room politics. I look forward to the day when it’s not a front page news story.
dagmar, I agree, it has cost and wasted so much money and time. It costs the tribe money to put together all these referendums and elections, its costing the state money now because the ag has to go fight the restraining order,(which the Eunice group should have to pick up the tab for) and has a whole the University looks foolish for letting this issue grow to such a huge problem
Murphy never said he supported the nickname, in fact he wrote a letter when he was on the council asking them to drop it in 1999, maybe you should have done your homework better tuc, instead of reporting rumors and heresay. Also there is a resolution from the SR council from years ago that states there be no referendums on the nickname, do your homework, tuc.
Anee, you need to do your homework. I pointed out a long time ago that Murphy didn’t like the nickname, citing exactly the letter you cited. Except a few years later he actually did say he supported a referendum. A reader corrected me and I found newspaper article that proved me wrong.
The referendum at Spirit Lake didn’t cost the tribe extra money. It took place the same time as the tribal election, so it appeared on the same ballot.
As for costs to the state: So you’re saying anyone that sues the state should have to pay both their attorney fees and the state’s attorney fees? That makes a ton of sense.
Back to the book with you.
If you say that putting any issue on the ballot than you are sadly naive about the cost of running an election on the rez. Its not as easy as just adding another item on the ballot, ask any tribal council member or election board.
Yes, anyone that does sue the state should have to pay their attorney fees, it happens all the time in the courts. Especially a frivolous lawsuit like the one that Eunice and her followers filed.
Your blog continuously cited rumors and heresay when the elections were going on and you cited many times that the election was stacking council people who would be in favor of the nickname, well guess what you were, wrong, wrong, wrong.
What a sorry state indeed when an election was based on their position on the nickname.
My book work done, nickname done too!
anee what tribal nation you from? Jus wondering.
TuU – is your interest in putting the nickname stories on the front page waning because it appears the efforts to keep the nickname are in trouble? I bet if the efforts to keep the nickname were to suddenly appear stronger you would be the first one to put it (the story) on the front page. And you have an amazing ability to turn news that looks bad for the logo into something positive. Your story of the turtle and the hare is a good example of this. I agree with anee, you need to more homework on what is going on at SR. Probably should drive down there and do a little hands on – on site investigating. Might revise your turtle/hare story
Cleveland Indian … you clearly missed the point of Tu’s post. The nickname issue is simply not always a front page story, especially when nothing new is happening.
The idea that anyone who sues the state should have to pay attorney’s fees for the state is also absurd.
Democracy costs money, like it or not. Its funny that the politically correct think referendums are a waste of money.
Prairie Chicken, referendums on nicknames are a waste of money when tribes can’t even properly house and take care of the health of their members.
cleveland indian: so true about tuc, he gleefully pounces on stories about the nickname and I don’t doubt that he is tool for the pro-nickname supporters. I wonder whatever will he do when the issue is gone, bore us with more of his charts and stats?
“There’s no doubt that this issue is divisive in some way on the reservation, though I suspect that it’s a lot more divisive on the council than it is among residents”. This statement could be no further from the truth! Believe me, were not a people that will sit back watch our leaders do what we don’t want. There is a reason there hasn’t been and there won’t be. Maybe we should consider the name fighting gooks, they were vicious little suckers back in history too.
The logo issue is devisive because the real power rests in MClaughlin S.D. where anti logo Jesse Taken Alive dishes out all the patronage positions on the res. People are afraid of retaliation and losing their perks from that system if they’re too pro logo.
Hugo: “We’re not a people that will sit back watch our leaders do what we don’t want?” That’s true. It seems your leaders often don’t do what you want because turnover is so high on tribal councils. Why is that?
The “fighting gook” statement is just stupid. Is there a “gook nation”? Is it called Gook-Nam? No. Is there a Standing Rock Sioux Nation? Yes. Some folks tried to change it to Standing Rock Oyate and lost the vote. But, I agree, we’re great fighters. We destroyed the Mongol armies three times and they swallowed China and Russia.
Cleveland Indian, Anee: You guys think I actually care that much about the nickname, eh? Sorry, I only care because it’s my job. I don’t have my self-esteem entwined in it like some people I know.
And, Anee, I think most intelligent readers appreciate the charts because they can do the interpretation for themselves instead of taking my word for it. An anti-intellectual would, naturally, not feel the same.
keep up the good work Tu-Uyen. I appreciate your hard work and unbiased opinion.
Fighting Gooks? That was a little racist, no?
Spearman- I completely agree with your statement about the loss of perks hindering some people’s ability to speak their minds freely.
Anee- It’s should not be the tribe’s responsibility to take care of us, the same as it should not be the Grand Forks City Council’s responsibility to take care of the GF area citizens. I highly doubt the cost of a referendum outweighs the relief that would come from it.
bless on, so you are ok with our elders not having adequate health care or going without heat for the winter? and its ok with you to see our youth suffering from high drug, alcoholism and suicide rates? and you are ok with the health care system that results in the highest mortality rate in the country?
wow guess you got your priorities straight, a bunch of white people being able to run around with sioux across their chests is way more important.
Anee, it’s not Bless on.. Bless will do just fine. :)
I did not say I was okay with the elderly going without heat or healthcare, what I said was “It’s should not be the tribe’s responsibility to take care of us, the same as it should not be the Grand Forks City Council’s responsibility to take care of the GF area citizens”. I truly believe that, and I’m sure there are plenty of other people who agree with me. Also, I’d like to point out that you didn’t specify elders, and that I assumed you meant it was the tribe’s responsibility to take care of EVERYONE, and that’s just absurd. Never the less, I think that’s exactly what you meant, absurd or not.
I didn’t take a stand on the nickname at all, I merely agreed with the referendum proposal which would end the situation once and for all. I don’t really think it was necessary to insinuate that I am A)racist or B)ignorant simply because I believe that S.R. should address this situation with a referendum.
Tu-Uyen where did i say anything about a gook nation, i suggest UND start one if you want one. Let correct the term nation, it was originally the Lakota, Dakota, and so forth. Some wanna be mainstreamer tried to start calling each agency nation, which in my opinion is not right.