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[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Here's the key to that article:

"Tribal and FSU officials said they have had a long relationship. But they want to do more, such as create educational, health and other opportunities for tribal members."

And this was taken from a link at the end of the article:

'The resolution passed Friday gives FSU permission "to use the name, 'Seminole,' as well as various Seminole symbols and images, such as Chief Osceola, for educational purposes," according to a release from the university.

"They had this resolution in mind, because the issue had cropped up with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), and made national news," said Frank Murphy, spokesman for FSU, who also attended the tribal council meeting.

The NCAA has been scrutinizing the issue, and is set to release its report in August.

"It was the first time we have ever been invited (to the tribal council)," Murphy said. "They wanted to talk about what we might do together, and, indeed, the resolution invites that beyond the use of the Seminole symbol, that we start looking at some things that are positive."

Preliminary ideas proposed by Wetherell include:

• Assistance starting a charter school on the Brighton Reservation where Florida Gulf Coast University already runs a summer enrichment program;

• Help with medical services at the Immokalee Reservation through the FSU College of Medicine in Sarasota;

• Establishment of a Center for Seminole Heritage and Culture on the Tallahassee campus;

• Bringing Seminole master builders to Tallahassee to construct a traditional Seminole shelter called a "chickee" on the campus.

FSU has used the Seminole name for campus activities for many years, and has included a color guard from the Seminole nation at commencement, and featured a Seminole princess at homecoming activities. Since Wetherell was named president, FSU instituted "Seminole Scholars," members of the tribe who receive 80 percent tuition scholarships.

Even so, a critic of sports teams' using American Indian names said FSU should have been assisting the Seminole community long before now.

"If there are needs, they should be doing those things anyway," said Leigh Jeanotte, director of American Indian student services at the University of North Dakota, and a Turtle Mountain Chippewa.

Jeanotte said naming sports teams - whether professional or college - inevitably leads to derogatory remarks from fans of opposing teams.

"There's to way to control the spectators," Jeanotte said. "The goal of the opposing team is to poke fun. You can't control that. And, because its about a group of individuals - a race of people - it's not appropriate."

Emman Spain, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and its historic preservation officer, agreed that naming a sports team for an American tribe can lead to racist remarks.

"We are real, actual, living people, who have children and love our nation," Spain said.

The Seminoles in Oklahoma are descendents of Florida tribes that were forcibly removed in the 1830s, Spain said. They were taken in chains by boat, to lessen their chances of escape on land.

"The Seminoles were removed by water - shipped from Tampa to New Orleans, and up the Mississippi, and then up the Arkansas River to Oklahoma," Spain said. "Half our tribe died defending our homeland in Florida."

But Spain said "something good" can come from the NCAA controversy, especially if it leads to more educational and cultural opportunities at FSU for Seminoles.'
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I guess when the threat of losing the name comes up, they're all for educating people and doing something positive (although I will note that they had who knows how many scholarships set aside (for a community of 3,000 people) and a color guard and princess at homecoming).

But I wonder how excited they would have been to start these programs had the NCAA not started to look into whether the name is appropriate.

I think the Seminole tribe should be granted a trademark of the name in perpetuity. Then, when it costs the school $50,000,000 a year to use it, we would see just how important that name is to the school.

TM

Or they'd just change their name to the Turtle Mountain Chippewas. That's gotta be cheaper.