At tonight’s University of Illinois basketball game, the Fighting Illini’s mascot, Chief Illiniwek, will dance his final dance. In a news release (PDF) issued last week, the university announced it was dropping the chief as its mascot after tonight’s game.
Illinois is the latest in a long line of universities to get rid of Native American mascots, following in the footsteps of schools like Marquette and St. John’s. Writing in PopMatters, Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, provides a historical perspective of the battle to drop the chief and notes that “not all ‘traditions’ are honorable.” But not all U of I students are happy with the decision and are showing their displeasure by wearing “chief” apparel today and then switching to black after tonight’s game. Many of the 3,500 students who joined a Facebook group in protest of the decision are expected to dress accordingly.
Andy writes! 
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