As an alum of the University, I was shocked and disgusted by President Stukel’s comments in the Sept. 10 issue of The Daily Illini. In an interview with the DI, Stukel commented, “The PRC, they don’t want to have any recognition of Native Americans (through) activities in campus.”

Through this slanderous remark, Stukel sends a slap in the face to the thousands of students, community members and American Indian leaders who have worked with the Progressive Resource /Action Committee – and within the anti-Chief movement – toward the goal of eliminating the racist mascot of the University: Chief Illiniwek.

The anti-Chief movement, as a whole, and PRC specifically, challenged the University to stop appropriating American Indian culture.

On Sept. 10, Stukel had the audacity to claim that because these stakeholders of the University believe their school should listen to the North Central Association and people around the state and country and dump the Chief, they are against American Indian culture.

President Stukel is severely misguided and needs to issue an apology immediately. It has been Stukel and the Board of Trustees who have shut out the American Indian voice from the Chief debate. The PRC and the anti-Chief movement have been pushing for true acknowledgment of American Indian culture – through its request to increase funding to the Native American House – to listen to the voice of the American Indian community when they say that Chief Illiniwek offends them; all in the vein of acknowledging and providing education about true American Indian culture.

However, these requests have fallen upon deaf ears. Countless American Indian and community leaders have directly addressed Stukel and the members of the Board of Trustees, demanding that the University eliminate the Chief. Yet these demands continue to be ignored and even countered by the continued retention of Chief Illiniwek.

In order to truly recognize American Indians at the University, we need to stop caricaturing just because they are a minority within the state. This is an issue of civil rights, and currently, the University is 40 years behind the rest of the country. The first step to solving this embarrassing issue is to eliminate Chief Illiniwek, including the name, dance and logo from all affiliations of the University. This would send a message that the University is very much interested in recognizing American Indians under a veil of equality. The preservation of Chief Illiniwek does the exact opposite. Stukel should be ashamed of himself for making audacious claims, slandering the students he is supposed to lead and mostly for retaining racist policy at the University.

Demian Kogan

University alumnus