The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign specifically retired Chief Illiniwek as the university's official mascot in 2007, ten years ago. The current debate among the U of I students is whether or not it should be acceptable to wear logos with The Chief on them for Unofficial Saint Patrick's Day weekend, a weekend in Champaign (this year from the 2nd of March until the 5th) during which excessive binge drinking for four consecutive days is encouraged and celebrated. This event, referred to as Unofficial, is not sponsored by or affiliated with the U of I in any way, shape, or form; it simply takes place at bars in the Campustown area of Champaign and is participated in by a high concentration of U of I students. There have been people who have died of alcohol poisoning throughout the 20 years that this tradition has occurred in the past.
Whether you choose to participate in Unofficial is 100% your choice, and I wish you the best no matter what you choose. The issue at hand here is not with the event, it is with the cultural appropriation that is resurfaced when people wear shirts with The Chief on them as a way to show "Illini pride." Wearing The Chief does not show Illini pride, in fact quite the opposite.
Firstly, The Chief is retired. He's outdated and if you want to show Illini spirit, there are plenty of better ways to do it than dig up a mascot that was retired. Secondly, The Chief was retired for a reason. The representation of a Native American chief as a mascot is extremely offensive to Native Americans because the acts of a mascot are ones to get the crowd excited and have a good time. Cultural sensitivity is increasingly more important with the state that racial relations are presently in in the United States. A chief of a Native American tribe is an extremely respected elder and leader who ensures the prosperity of a tribe, it is offensive to Native American individuals to have this important figure molded into a version tweaked to fit into American culture better, implying that there is something that needs to be changed about the figure. Having this figure do silly dances and chant silly chants is simply disrespectful to their culture. That is that. That is why Chief Illiniwek is no longer U of I's mascot for sporting events. Wearing shirts that utilize The Chief as a mascot for Unofficial, simply a drinking party, is outrageously disrespectful to the sacredness of the significance of Native American chiefs. Native American culture does not include binge drinking for unofficial St. Patrick's day in its traditions. This is not okay.
Put yourself in the shoes of the Native American people. For example, I'm Indian and I would boil in fury if someone dressed up as the God Ganesh, the God that is half elephant and half human in appearance, and danced around covered in orange and blue ribbons and glitter singing "Hey Baby." The Chief of a tribe is a God-like figure in Native American tribes. Do you want someone dressing up as Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Waheguru, or whichever God you believe in and prancing around as a mascot? Do you want an influential figure to you like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, or Mother Theresa to be botched into a cartoon-like character and serve as a symbol for enjoyment of athletics rather than what they really stand for? The answer is, most likely, no. This is exactly how the Native American people feel about the U of I using The Chief as a mascot, which is why he was retired 10 years ago.
This past Monday, the Daily Illini stated that two of the potential mascots being discussed to replace The Chief are the sassy squirrel and Abraham Lincoln. If this comes down to a vote, I would absolutely vote for the squirrel because Abraham Lincoln is a figure in this country's history who deserves respect which I believe would not be granted to him as a mascot. Using animals as mascots is, I believe, a great way to have a globally respectful mascot. Seeing a person dressed as a huge squirrel dancing around and chanting "I believe that we will win," is funny and exciting without any form of cultural appropriation or disrespect to anybody.
After the million and seven arguments that I saw on every U of I Facebook group this week about these t-shirts, I felt the need to calmly explain the stance of a person who says no to The Chief apparel in order to remain culturally sensitive. There are several people on all of these U of I groups willing to trade in your old apparel with The Chief on it in for some updates, Chief-free clothes, free of cost. Take them up on it, you have no excuse. Show your Illini pride by wearing Chief-free Unofficial apparel. The U of I is not a racist institution, please don't let its student body be racist.
