In response to the outlandish claim recently made in an editorial in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead that we Sioux are "racist":
The writers obviously have no clue as to what they are talking about, nor do they have a full and complete understanding as to the name Fighting Sioux or its origins.
I, for one, am a proud Dakota Sioux and a very proud Fighting Sioux supporter as are many, many other members of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe. Our support and dedication to the UND name and logo are rooted deeply within our connection to our elders and the "gift" they bestowed upon the university in the 1930s and later solidified in the Sacred Pipe Ceremony in 1969.
I am a member of the group "The Sioux Were Silenced" because we were silenced-and it's a shame that Forum Communications reporters don't explore that fact.
Nor do the reporters even try to dig deeper into the facts that surround the removal of the gift that was given to UND by my ancestors and the elders of both the Spirit Lake (Devils Lake Sioux Tribe back then) and Standing Rock Sioux tribes.
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Why hasn't the news media tried to explore the facts behind the sealing of the documents that could reveal the true reason and the real agenda behind the attack on the Sioux people and the name and logo at UND?
Were there any natives represented at that meeting with the NCAA and if so, who were they? What's in the documents that they are trying to hide? What are you afraid of?
A good reporter would investigate these types of questions that the residents of North Dakota have the right to know. Then again, Forum Communications reporters may not be that good.
We will never be quiet. We will not be silent any longer. We want answers, and we will get them.
Frank Black Cloud
Fort Totten, N.D.
