Look up chief or chiefs in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Chief may refer to:

Title or rank[link]

• Chief of the Name, head of a family or clan
• Chief executive officer, the highest-ranking corporate officer of an organization
• Chief Master Sergeant, in the United States Air Force
• Chief of police, the head of a police department
• Chief petty officer, a non-commissioned officer or equivalent in many navies
• Chief of the Boat, the senior enlisted sailor on an U.S. Navy submarine
• Chief engineer, the highest senior officer in the engine department on a merchant vessel
• Chief officer, the highest senior officer in the deck department on a merchant vessel
• Commander-in-chief, the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces
• Editor-in-chief, the highest-ranking editor of a publication
• Fire chief, top rank in a fire department
• Paramount chief, the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a polity
• Scottish clan chief, the head of a Scottish clan
• Tribal chief, the head of a tribal form of self-government
• Warrant officer, in the United States Army

Aircraft[link]

• Aeronca 50 Chief, an American light plane of the late 1930s
• Aeronca 11 Chief, a two-seat airplane entering production in 1945

Media[link]

Literature[link]

• Chiefs (novel), a 1981 novel by Stuart Woods
• The Chief (play), a 2003 one-man play about Art Rooney
• The Chief-Leader or just The Chief, a newspaper aimed at civil service workers in New York City

Music[link]

• Chief Records, an independent record label 1957-1964
• Chief (band), a band signed to Domino Records
• Chief (album), a 2011 album by Eric Church

Television[link]

• The Chief (TV series), a series on CablePulse 24 in Toronto, Ontario
• The Chief (UK television series), a 1990s crime drama
• Chiefs (TV miniseries), a 1983 miniseries starring Charlton Heston and Keith Carradine

Fictional characters[link]

• Chief (comics), the leader of the Doom Patrol
• The Chief (Carmen Sandiego), in the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? franchise
• Galen Tyrol or "The Chief", in the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica
• Master Chief (Halo) or just "Chief", in the gaming franchise Halo
• Chief, in the film The Fox and the Hound and in the novel on which it is based
• The Chief, in the TV situation comedy Get Smart
• The Chief, in the animated TV series The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
• The Chief, in the animated TV series T.U.F.F. Puppy
• Chief Bromden, in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and in the film adaptation
• Charlestown Chiefs, a fictional ice hockey team in the film Slap Shot

Sports[link]

• Chiefs (Super rugby franchise), a rugby team in New Zealand
• Exeter Chiefs, a Rugby Union team in England
• Johnstown Chiefs, an ice hockey team in Pennsylvania that took its name from the fictional Charlestown Chiefs (see above)
• Laval Chiefs, an ice hockey team in Quebec
• Kaizer Chiefs F.C., a football club in South Africa
• Kansas City Chiefs, an American football team in Missouri
• Peoria Chiefs, a minor league baseball affiliate in Peoria, Illinois of the Chicago Cubs
• Syracuse Chiefs, a minor league baseball team in upstate New York

People nicknamed Chief or The Chief[link]

• Wayne Allison (born 1968), football player
• George Armstrong (ice hockey), retired Hall of Fame NHL player
• Harold Roe Bartle (1901–1974), former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri and founder of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say
• Johnny Bucyk (born 1935), retired Hall of Fame NHL player with the Boston Bruins
• Chad Cordero (born 1982), professional baseball player in the MLB
• John Diefenbaker (1895–1979), former Prime Minister of Canada
• Jason Dunstall (born 1964), former AFL Footballer with Hawthorn
• Noel Gallagher (born 1967), English musician in the band Oasis
• Paul Harragon (born 1968), Australia Rugby League former player and commentator
• Robert Parish (born 1953), professional basketball player in the NBA
• Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891), Irish nationalist political leader
• Art Rooney (1901–1988), founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Felipe Rose (born 1954), "Indian Chief" in the Village People
• Jamie Thomas (born 1974), Pro skateboarder and owner of Black Box Distribution
• Simon Wiggins (born 1982), former AFL Footballer with Carlton
• Thomas Goss (born 1989), English rugby player

Other uses[link]

• Chief (heraldry), a horizontal band on a coat of arms
• Chief (train), a named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
• Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight (CHIEF), a UK customs computer system
• Stawamus Chief aka "The Chief" is a granite dome located adjacent to the town of Squamish, British Columbia.

See also[link]

• Chief of staff
• Chieftain (disambiguation)
• Super Chief (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Patty Griffin
Griffin appearing at the 2010 SXSW festival
Background information
Birth name	Patricia Jean Griffin
Born	(1964-03-16) March 16, 1964 (age 48)
Origin	Old Town, Maine, United States
Genres	Folk-rock, Americana, folk, alt-country
Occupations	MusicianSinger-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	A&M ATO Records Credential Recordings
Associated acts	Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris, Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue, Joshua Radin, Band of Joy
Website	Official Website

Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964,^[1] is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Rory Block and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with her onstage as well as performing cover songs of Griffin's work, exposing many of her compositions to mainstream pop and country music audiences outside Griffin's folk music circle of fans. She was also recipient of the Americana Music Association's highest honor as "Artist of the Year" in 2007, as well as taking home the award for best album for Children Running Through. In 2011, Griffin won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album for Downtown Church.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Patty Griffin is from Old Town, Maine, United States, next to the Penobscot Native American reservation. She is primarily a guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, with a distinctive voice. The youngest child in her family with six older siblings, she bought a guitar for $50 at age 16, and sang and played, but had no inclination at the time to become a professional musician. After a short marriage which ended in 1992, Griffin began playing in Boston coffee houses, and was scouted by A&M Records, who signed Griffin on the strength of her demo tape; however A&M thought it to be overproduced, so Nile Rodgers and A&M instead released a stripped-down reworking of her demo tape, as an album called Living with Ghosts.^[2]

Griffin's second album, 1998's Flaming Red was a departure from the acoustic sound of Living with Ghosts, with a mix of mellow songs along with other, very high tempo rock and roll songs. The title track, "Flaming Red" is an example of this, beginning with an even beat until it increases to a fevered pitch of emotion. "Tony" from this album is also featured on the charity benefit album Live in the X Lounge.

Her third record, Silver Bell had a similar sound to its predecessor, though it was also unreleased by A&M. A&M dropped Griffin's contract after Silver Bell, but she was picked up by Dave Matthews' ATO Records. Griffin re-recorded songs from that album for later releases such as "Making Pies", "Mother of God," "Standing," and "Top of the World" and others have been most famously covered by the Dixie Chicks. Copies of the unreleased Silver Bell were leaked and bootlegged, and can now be easily acquired via the "B&P" (Blanks and Postage) method on message boards.^[3] Four albums have followed so far on ATO, including 2002's 1000 Kisses, A Kiss in Time (2003), Impossible Dream (2004), and Children Running Through(2007),

In 2004, Griffin toured with Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue. On February 6, 2007, she released Children Running Through. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200 with 27,000 copies sold.^[4] Of the album, Griffin told Gibson Lifestyle, “I just kind of felt like singing what I wanted to sing, and playing how I wanted to play. It’s not all dark and tragic. It’s a different way for me to look at things. Getting old—older, I should say, I’m not so serious all the time.”^[5] It was also said that the album was inspired by her childhood days.^[6]

Griffin's songs have been recorded by artists such as Irish-born singer Maura O'Connell ("Long Ride Home"), Linda Ronstadt ("Falling Down"), the Dixie Chicks ("Truth No. 2," "Top of the World," "Let Him Fly"), Bette Midler ("Moses"), Beth Nielsen Chapman, Christine Collister, and Dixie Chicks ("Mary"), Mary Chapin Carpenter ("Dear Old Friend"), Jessica Simpson ("Let Him Fly"), Martina McBride ("Goodbye"), Melissa Ferrick and Missy Higgins ("Moses"), Emmylou Harris ("One Big Love", "Moon Song"), Bethany Joy Galeotti ("Blue Sky"), The Wreckers ("One More Girl"), Keri Noble ("When It Don't Come Easy"), Joan Osborne ("What You Are"), Solomon Burke ("Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)"), and Miranda Lambert ("Getting Ready"). Kelly Clarkson performed "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)" with Jeff Beck on guitar, accompanied by some orchestration on the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol, and the live recording was released as a single immediately afterwards, reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its first week and giving Griffin her highest charting position as a songwriter. (The audience gave Clarkson a standing ovation following her performance.) Griffin herself had said that when she heard Burke's version of the song, she almost did not feel worthy of singing it herself anymore. Griffin's version of the song was featured on the fourth season, episode 11 of the popular ABC television show, Grey's Anatomy.

Instruments[link]

1965 Gibson J-50 Guitar
1993 Gibson J-200 Junior Guitar^[7]

Recent work[link]

Griffin performing at the North Carolina Museum of Art in 2006

In September 2008, Griffin was featured on the album Simple Times by indie artist Joshua Radin, duetting on the song "You Got Growing Up to Do." In October 2008, she appeared in background vocals on Todd Snider's cover of John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son" for Snider's Peace Queer album. In February 2009, Griffin was featured on the album Feel That Fire by Dierks Bentley, duetting on the song "Beautiful World".

In 2009, Patty Griffin, along with Mavis Staples and The Tri-City Singers released a version of the song "Waiting For My Child to Come Home" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.^[8]

The collaboration with Staples led EMI's Peter York to suggest Griffin make an album of gospel songs. Griffin agreed on the condition that friend and bandmate Buddy Miller produced the record.^[9] Griffin's sixth studio album, Downtown Church, was recorded at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville and was released on January 26, 2010.^[10] The album features long-time friends Buddy and Julie Miller, as well as Shawn Colvin and Emmylou Harris. It features songs by Hank Williams, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and "All Creatures of Our God and King," a song accredited to St. Francis of Assisi.^[11]

In July 2010, Robert Plant toured the United States with Band of Joy (reprising the name of his very first band in the 1960s). Patty Griffin toured with them as a backing vocalist to Plant, along with singer-guitarist Buddy Miller, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Darrell Scott, bassist-vocalist Byron House, and drummer-percussionist-vocalist Marco Giovino. She is also featured on Plant's solo album, Band of Joy, which was released in September 2010 by Rounder Records.^[12]

Film, television, and theater[link]

Griffin has appeared in several movies including Cremaster 2 and in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown the soundtrack of which also included her song "Long Ride Home" and a cover of "Moon River" by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.

In 2007, the Atlantic Theater Company produced 10 Million Miles, an Off Broadway musical with Griffin's music as the soundtrack, and a book by Keith Bunin, directed by Michael Mayer.

Griffin's first DVD, "Patty Griffin: Live From The Artists Den" was filmed on February 6, 2007 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation For the Arts on New York’s Lower East Side and released later that year. Selections from the DVD were featured on the program Live from the Artists Den on Ovation TV beginning January 24, 2008.

In 2007, Griffin was singled out by the Americana Music Association and awarded their top honor: Artist of the Year, and her album Children Running Through also received an honor from the Association. She performed "Trapeze" with Emmylou Harris harmonizing.^[13]

On June 13, 2008 Griffin performed an acoustic in the round set in Nashville, Tennessee with Kris Kristofferson and Randy Owen (Alabama) for a special taping of a PBS songwriters series to be aired in December 2008. Each performer played five songs. In Griffin's case, it features "Making Pies," "No Bad News," "Up to the Mountain," and "Mary."

Griffin's song "Not Alone" (sometimes attributed as "You Are Not Alone"), from her first album, Living with Ghosts, was featured in the soundtrack for the hit television series, Without a Trace, in 2009. It also plays over the final scenes and end credits of the film Niagara, Niagara (1997).

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Other contributions[link]

• Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music (1998) - "Cain" (recorded live during the 1997 tour)
• Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted (2002, World Café) - "Rain"
• 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) - "Rain"
• Elizabethtown Soundtrack (2005, RCA Records) - "Long Ride Home", "Moon River"
• Oh Happy Day (2009, EMI Gospel/Vector Recordings) - "Waiting For My Child To Come Home" (with Mavis Staples and The Tri-City Singers)
• Live at the World Cafe: Vol. 5 (1997, World Cafe Records) - "Every Little Bit"
• Live at the World Cafe: Vol. 16 - Sweet Sixteen (World Cafe Records) - "Makin' Pies"

Guest singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Patty Griffin

• Official website
• Patty Griffin at Allmusic
• Patty Griffin at the Internet Off Broadway Database

Chief Illiniwek performing at a football game

Chief Illiniwek was the mascot and the official symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was portrayed by a student dressed in Sioux regalia to honor the Illiniwek, the state's namesake. 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 has been the center of a controversy. At the root of the controversy is the view of several American Indian groups, as well as other people, both of color, and white, that the symbol/mascot was a misappropriation of indigenous cultural figures and rituals and that it perpetuated stereotypes about American Indian peoples. As a result of this controversy, the NCAA termed Chief Illiniwek a "hostile or abusive" mascot and image in August 2005^[1] and banned the university from hosting postseason activities as long as it continued to use the "mascot" and symbol.

Background[link]

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.^[2][3][4] The use of Chief Illiniwek predates the use of mascots in most sports teams^[5] and he was never on the sidelines with the cheerleaders during games, as is typical for university sports mascots. In recent years he did not perform at road games, although this practice was initiated because other Big Ten universities would not permit the character to perform at their home games, citing him as offensive.^[6][7]

During sporting events, the Chief was portrayed by a student selected via audition and wearing traditional Lakota (Sioux) regalia sold to the University marching band by Chief Frank Fools Crow. The portrayal also included a dance of unknown origins, possibly adapted from early 20th century fancy dancing via the Boy Scouts (see History, below). His 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".^[8] The Chief performed only at major sporting events hosted by the university. The stated intent of the Chief was to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois^{[citation needed]}.

Chief Illiniwek's final official appearance was at an Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball game on February 21, 2007. The Chief received a long standing ovation, and his departure was described by many in attendance as a very sad day for some Illini fans. In protest and mourning, hundreds of students donned black shirts for the second half of the game.^[9] The student portraying the Chief, Dan Maloney, strayed from tradition to return to center court and acknowledge the fans.^[1]

History[link]

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.^[1] Student Lester Leutwiler, an Eagle Scout, created the original costume and performed the dance based upon his studies as a Boy Scout. The expression Illiniwek (meaning "the complete human being - the strong, agile human body, and the indomitable human spirit")^[10] was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois football team by football coach Bob Zuppke, referring to the Illinois Confederation^[11] 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^[1] 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 at that time, the feathers in the headdresses worn by the Chief were replaced with dyed turkey feathers after requests from the family of Chief Fool's Crow.^[12]

Chief Illiniwek's dance was derived from "Indian Lore" studies done by university students who had been Boy Scouts. The three- or four-minute dance is based on fancy dance, a style that originated from the Plains Indians as a means of providing a more secular display than purely sacred dancing, and which is practiced today by many Native Americans at pow-wows. The dance has evolved over time; each student who performs the role of the Chief augments the basic performance with his own movements and steps. Although it is claimed the dance is similar to traditional fancy dance, the Chief's routine includes mid-air splits, which are rarely found in Native fancy dance.^{[citation needed]} Only the music has remained unchanged, with the Chief always performing to the Three in One. In the 1990s, literature distributed by the University ceased describing the dance as "authentic."^{[citation needed]}

Since 1926 a total of 36 different students have performed the role of the Chief.^[13] 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,^[14] 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".^photo[15] Brooks weighed 90 pounds and her Chief regalia weighed 50.^[1] However, more recently the most current "unofficial" Chief Illiniwek has been cited as to being half-Cherokee.^{[citation needed]}

The actual descendants of the Illiniwek opposed the Chief (see Controversy, below). In May 1995, a WICD reporter interviewed members of the Peoria tribe in Oklahoma, Chief Don Giles said, "We do not have a problem with the mascot.".^[16] On January 17, 2007, however, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Tribal Council issued a resolution, asking that the University of Illinois to 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.^[17]

The Chief appeared at the University's homecoming parade and pep rally until 1991.^[1]

Controversy[link]

From the mid-1970s, the Chief was the subject of debate at the University of Illinois.^[10] Protests began in October 1989 when Charlene Teters, a graduate student from the Spokane tribe, began protesting the Chief at athletic events after her young son and daughter's reaction to the Chief's dance at a basketball game.^[18] Soon, individuals and organizations, some from outside of the University, began to support the Chief's elimination. Some academic departments adopted official stances in favor of retirement of the symbol. External organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Education Association, Amnesty International, the Modern Language Association, and Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas also took positions in favor of retiring the Chief.^[19] In November 1989, the Illinois state legislature passed a resolution in support of the Chief.^[1]

Student and alumni organizations, such as the Honor the Chief Society and Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation, are dedicated to explaining and preserving the tradition of Chief Illiniwek. The Students for the Chief group formed in 1990.^[1] Among the national Native American organizations which called for the retirement of the symbol were the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Education Association. At the Urbana-Champaign campus, the Native American House, the American Indian Studies program, and the Native American student organizations all called for its retirement.

Chief Illiniwek with the University of Illinois Marching Illini

Those in favor of retiring the Chief contended that the Chief misappropriates Native American culture and perpetuates harmful racial or ethnic stereotypes. They argued that this obstructed the creation of a diverse and tolerant learning community, harmed the reputation of the University, and promoted an inaccurate image of Native Americans. Those in support of the Chief claimed that he was a revered symbol representing not only a proud people but the great spirit of a great university.

A 1995 ruling by the United States Department of Education found that the Chief did not violate Native American students' civil rights. Also in 1995, the state legislature approved a bill making the Chief the "official symbol" of the University, but Governor Jim Edgar's amendatory veto allowed the decision to remain with the University.^[1]

As a result of student activism calling for support for Native American students and an American Indian Studies program, the Urbana-Champaign campus established the Native American House and American Indian Studies program in 2003. As reported in the University of Illinois student databook in 2003, students of Native American descent made up 0.2% of the overall student population, and only 0.1% of the faculty are of Native American origin. This is in contrast with the national average of 0.4%. However, it should be noted that the state of Illinois has a lower than average proportion of Native Americans.^[20] Some Illiniwek were forcibly removed from the state of Illinois during the time of Indian removal. The forced relocation of Indian nations between 1818 and 1833 made way for non-Indians to claim the territory as the state of Illinois.^{[citation needed]} Due to government-sponsored assimilation programs, many Native people moved in the 1950s to large urban areas such as Chicago. Founded in 1953, Chicago's American Indian Center is the oldest urban Indian center in the country, and there is a substantial American Indian population in Chicago.

In 2006, the University Board of Trustees opted to study the issue and passed a resolution calling for "a consensus conclusion to the matter of Chief Illiniwek." Many on both sides of the issue find this resolution problematic, given that former trustee Roger Plummer determined that a compromise on the issue was not possible. Thus far, the Board of Trustees has not consulted on the matter with the faculty of the American Indian Studies Program.

In the past few years, opinion polls on the subject have not been much help in defining Native American opinion on the subject. In 2002, a Peter Harris Research Group poll of those who declared Native American ethnicity on a U.S. census showed that 81% of Native Americans support the use of Indian nicknames in high school and college sports, and 83% of Native Americans support the use of Indian mascots and symbols in professional sports. However, the methods and results of this poll have been disputed.^[21] A separate poll conducted by the Native-run newspaper Indian Country Today in 2001 reported that 81% of those polled "indicated use of American Indian names, symbols and mascots are predominantly offensive and deeply disparaging to Native Americans."^{[citation needed]}

A non-binding student referendum on Chief Illiniwek was conducted in March 2004. Of the approximately one-third of the student body who cast ballots, 69% of the voters favored retention of the Chief.^[22] Faculty have tended to be critical of the Chief.^[23][24] Another non-binding student referendum on Chief Illiniwek was conducted in February 2008. Of the approximately 23% of the student body who cast ballots, 79% (7,718) voted to show support for Chief Illiniwek, while 21% (2,052) voted to not show support.^[25]

Position of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma[link]

The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy, having been relocated to Oklahoma in the 19th century. The position of the tribal leadership has evolved over the years. In a television interview with WICD-TV in 1995, Don Giles, then Chief of the Peoria Tribe, said, "To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We are proud. We're proud that the University of Illinois, the flagship university of the state, a seat of learning, is drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us?" Supporting Chief Giles was another tribal elder, Ron Froman, who stated that the protesters "don't speak for all Native Americans, and certainly not us."^[10]

NCAA involvement[link]

In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the primary governing board for intercollegiate athletics, instituted a ban on schools that use what they call "hostile and abusive American Indian nicknames" from hosting postseason games, beginning February 2006. The University of Illinois was among the 18 schools subject to the ban which, among other things, prohibited the University from hosting NCAA-sponsored tournaments. The ban was soon expanded to include Bowl Championship Series-sponsored bowl games, starting with the 2006 football season. The university appealed the ban in October on the grounds that it violates NCAA bylaws and violated institutional autonomy.

On November 11, 2005, the NCAA, stating that it had "found no new information relative to the mascot, known as ‘Chief Illiniwek’ or the logo mark used by some athletics teams that depicts an American Indian in feathered headdress,"^[26] upheld the ban on the University of Illinois. However, it did allow the continued use of the nicknames "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" by the University because they are based on the name of the state and not of American Indian descent. The university appealed the decision again on January 30, 2006, mere days before the deadline.^[27] While the NCAA Executive Committee granted an extension to April 28, the committee's next meeting, to other schools affected by the ban, the University of Illinois requested a longer stay until May 15, the end of the current semester. The Executive Committee ignored the request for a longer stay and denied the university's second appeal while indicating that no further appeals would be entertained.^[28]

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on August 31, 2006 that Chief Illiniwek would "no longer be an official university symbol" after the 2006–2007 basketball season. The paper also reported that the ownership of the Chief would be transitioned to an organization called the "Council of Chiefs" and made up of a number of people who have previously portrayed Chief Illiniwek. The next day, however, the University disputed the Sun-Times report. University sources confirmed that several former Chiefs had met with University officials to discuss preserving the symbol's tradition but stated that the so-called "Council of Chiefs" did not exist as a formally organized group. A University spokesman stated that "no decisions have been made" regarding the symbol's fate.^[29]

Chief Illiniwek and the Fighting Illini[link]

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 changed its name to The Illini in the late 19th century. (The paper is now called The Daily 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.^{[citation needed]} Similarly, the on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, was named in honor of these fallen soldiers. As stated above, the NCAA has exempted the names "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" from its ban on "hostile and abusive" American Indian imagery, and these names are still used by the University. The state of Illinois is named for the Illinois River, which was itself named by French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes that thrived in the area. The word Illiniwek means "those who speak in the ordinary way," although it has often been mistranslated as "tribe of superior men."^[30]

Retiring Chief Illiniwek[link]

On February 16, 2007, Lawrence Eppley, chair of the board of trustees issued a unilateral ruling retiring Chief Illiniwek.^[31] 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.^[32] 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.^[33]

After retirement[link]

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.^[34]

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.^[35] An open letter was sent forth by the Native American House encouraging the entire University community to speak out against the event.^[36]

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.^[37]

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.^[38] The emails include conversations between Romano and Richard Herman (who later resigned for his involvement with the University of Illinois clout scandal) 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.^[39] and "trying to think of a reason to deny them access to Assembly Hall on Oct. 2." ^[39] 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 red light rating.^[40] In May 2010 the Students for Chief Organization chose a new student to serve as the 38th chief portrayer: Ivan A. Dozier, who claims Cherokee ancestry.^[41] 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 year.^[42]

Students and fans still chant "Chief" during the performance of Three In One During halftime. Since 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.

See also[link]

• 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)

References[link]

• King, C. Richard, and Charles Fruehling Springwood, eds. (2001). Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy. Foreword by Vine Deloria Jr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
• Spindel, Carol (2002). Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy Over American Indian Mascots. Updated edition, with a new afterword. New York: New York University Press.

Films[link]

• Chief Video Documentary - The Chief & The Tradition
• In Whose Honor? (1997). Written and produced by Jay Rosenstein. Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey: New Day Films.

References[link]

• http://www.illinimedia.com/di/archives/1997/September/25/p11_stephcol.txt.html

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)

• University of Illinois Wiki entry
• Honor The Chief Foundation
• Retire the Chief.org
• UIUC Native American House statements on Chief Illiniwek, Fighting Illini, UIUC's response to NCAA
• The Chief Illiniwek Dialogue - A report to the Board of Trustees regarding Chief Illiniwek.
• Plummer Report
• Chief Illiniwek Myspace Page
• Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation.org
• American Psychological Association Resolution calling for Retirement of Native American imagery in sports
• Press Release on NCAA's response to the University of Illinois' appeal
• Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative
• National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media (NCRSM)-- Illinois Chapter
• Save Chief Illiniwek
• I-Resist
• Champaign News-Gazette: Former Chiefs gather to celebrate 80th anniversary of symbol
• Last Dance by Chief Illiniwek
• University of Illinois' Announcement Concerning the Chief Illiniwek Tradition
• Official University of Illinois Press Release regarding Retirement
• UIUC American Indian Studies and Native American House statement on Chief Illiniwek, Fighting Illini, UIUC's response to NCAA
• The Students For Chief Illiniwek

Video[link]

• Video of Chief Illiniwek's last dance