Letter to the editor: Keep the Fighting Sioux nickname on Tuesday

I will be voting no on Measure 4 on June 12 which means I am in favor of keeping the Fighting Sioux nickname at University of North Dakota. I do not accept the NCAA as God. UND existed before the NCAA was even a dream in someone’s mind just as the Indians were here before America was even a dream in the mind of Columbus.

I encourage everyone to vote against retiring the Sioux nickname — every single person.

Three pillars of the Sioux religion were honesty, bravery and generosity. These would be admirable for any religion that ever was or is. Sitting Bull died at 58 trying to maintain the essence of his civilization and he is still the most famous person to have ever come from these parts. Crazy Horse died at 33 and they are building a memorial in his honor. A man named Lame Deer and 15 of his followers died in battle and he has a town in Montana named after him. The natives also lost a chief at the Little Bighorn Battle (about 30 natives also died out there). His name was Lame White Man or Mad Wolf. He charged all by himself on his horse. He made it through the enemy line but on his way back was gunned down in a hail of gunfire. The Indians who actually did the fighting there praised the soldiers under the command of Custer, a hero of the Civil War, as being brave men. Many told their story and it is entirely believable. Do we really want to give that up?

The Dakota Sioux of Spirit Lake acknowledged us by voting 67 percent to keep the name and we should be honored. The Nakota Sioux, in the middle, had the James River as their primary waterway and I’m sure were quite familiar with Jamestown from its very beginning. And the Lakota Sioux to the west will finally get their say on June 12.

If they and the people of North Dakota vote no, which somehow means yes, keep the name (hmmm, honesty?), I plan on contacting my representatives in Bismarck to introduce a bill to give a small but generous payment ($30 million?) out of our rather sizeable surplus to the Sioux of Standing Rock and Spirit Lake with a smaller amount perhaps also for the portion of Standing Rock extending into South Dakota and the Wahpeton-Sisseton Dakota to be divided up equally amongst all registered members. I think that would set a good example.

I do not consider those who oppose to be my enemy. I get annoyed by some things also but all universities and all places are not the same.

Mike Shockman

LaMoure, N.D.

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion, letters