A lawsuit filed today in federal court by UND Fighting Sioux nickname supporters at Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes makes several allegations, including:
- The two tribes are "indispensable parties" who were left out of negotiations leading to a 2007 settlement agreement between the state of North Dakota and the NCAA, so the agreement is void.
- The NCAA has over-reached its jurisdiction and infringed on UND's copyright on the "Fighting Sioux" logo.
- By failing to take into account "traditions, ceremonies and religious acts that are sacred to the Sioux Nations," including a 1969 naming ceremony at UND, the NCAA has violated the federal Indian Religious Freedom Act.
- The NCAA's application of its policy to UND violates plaintiffs' freedom of speech and the federal Indian Civil Rights Act.
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- The NCAA's description of "Fighting Sioux" as a "hostile and abusive" term "soiled the name and reputation of the Sioux nation" and amount to defamation.
