Chief Illiniwek

Common card · No. 229773

Chief Illiniwek was the mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), associated with the university's intercollegiate athletic programs, from October 30, 1926, to February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake, although the regalia worn was from the Sioux. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches. Beginning in the 1970s, Chief Illiniwek became the center of a disagreement between fans and alumni who viewed the mascot as part of the UIUC tradition and many Native American individuals and organizations, social scientists, and educators who viewed such mascots as cultural appropriation of indigenous images and rituals that perpetuated inaccurate stereotypes about American Indian peoples. In 2005, Chief Illiniwek was one of 19 mascots cited as "hostile or abusive" by the NCAA in a policy that banned schools...

Read on Wikipedia · Image The original uploader was MattWright at English Wikipedia., CC BY 2.0