Higher Ed Board on Sioux

North Dakota's attorney general says his office is ready to respond to an restraining order regar...  More »

North Dakota's attorney general says his office is ready to respond to an restraining order regarding the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo at the University of North Dakota. Wayne Stenehjem met in executive session with the Board of Higher education this afternoon in Minot, telling them he hoped to get the lawsuit dismissed. The board has set a November 30th deadline to either receive permission from the state's two Sioux tribes or drop the Sioux nickname and logo. But a group of Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members filed suit, asking a Devils Lake judge to stop efforts to force UND to drop its Fighting Sioux brand. The judge in the case issued a temporary restraining order this month, saying the Board of Higher Education could not take any action to drop the nickname until after a December 9th court hearing. After today's private meeting with the board, Stenehjem said he'll file papers next week seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing the board must be allowed to make decisions regarding the Sioux issue. (Wayne Stenehjem, ND Attorney General) "My position is that it is the authority of the board to make the determination of how the athletics and operation of all the educational programs at the state's universities are operated. And that's their constitutional responsibility." Earlier today, the board heard a report from Chancellor Bill Goetz about his recent meeting with Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy. Goetz said the chairman indicated the Sioux issue has been divisive for tribal members and a reservation-wide referendum on the issue is not currently scheduled. Goetz told board members the issue has also been causing problems on the UND campus. (Bill Goetz, ND University Chancellor) "Regardless of how this issue turns out, there is a great deal of work that needs to be done to bring together the concerns of students and the environment in which this issue has taken students down a pathway of, as expressed, concerns of racism." The action concerning the Sioux name and logo was prompted by an NCAA ruling that the name is offensive and could not be continued without tribal support.  « Less