A prominent Standing Rock Sioux supporter of UND's use of the Fighting Sioux nickname lost his bid last month for a seat on the governing Tribal Council.
Archie Fool Bear, a former council member who circulated petitions last year seeking a reservation-wide vote on the nickname issue, was one of six candidates who failed to win an at-large council seat in the Sept. 28 election, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
The six people who were elected to at-large positions included Jesse Taken Alive, a longtime opponent of UND's use of the Fighting Sioux nickname.
A spokesman for the tribe said today a runoff election will be held for two candidates who tied for a council position, but Fool Bear is not involved.
Neither Fool Bear nor Taken Alive responded to requests for comment today, and it was not immediately clear how much or whether the nickname issue played a role in the recent election.
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In addition to circulating the pro-nickname petition and trying to persuade the Tribal Council to arrange a referendum on the issue, Fool Bear testified in January before a committee of the North Dakota Legislature.
The House Education Committee was considering the bill that eventually became law, directing UND to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname despite sanctions threatened by the NCAA. Supporting the bill, Fool Bear reviewed his efforts to get a referendum scheduled at Standing Rock.
"They don't want the people to be heard because they know what the outcome is going to be," he said of the council.
But Taken Alive, who also addressed the House committee, noted that a reservation-wide vote would be expensive and the tribe had a long list of other, more pressing issues to deal with. He also reminded legislators that Standing Rock Tribal Councils since 1992 had repeatedly expressed their opposition to the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.
A 2007 legal settlement between UND and the NCAA gave the university and State Board of Higher Education three years to win approval for continued use of the nickname from the two namesake tribes, Spirit Lake and Standing Rock. Spirit Lake gave its consent through a 2009 referendum and council action. With no assent coming from Standing Rock, however, the NCAA imposed sanctions on UND in August.
Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send email to chaga@gfherald.com .
