The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, commonly known as UIUC, is a prestigious public research university located in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois. Being a prominent institution, UIUC has a rich history and a strong sense of school spirit. Like many universities, UIUC has a distinctive mascot that embodies the spirit and pride of the student body. The official mascot of UIUC is the Fighting Illini. The term "Illini" refers to the original inhabitants of the state of Illinois, the Illiniwek people. The Illiniwek were a tribe of Native Americans who lived in the region before European colonization.

The Retired University Of Illinois Mascot Still Lingers On Campus

Supporters and opponents of University of Illinois' mascot listen at a board of trustees meeting Thursday, June 17, 2004 in Chicago.

• Photo: M. Spencer Green/AP

URBANA – Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert remembers watching a man dressed up in Native American regalia dance across a football field as “surreal” and “in many ways silly.” It was the fall of 2006, and the University of Illinois’ former mascot, Chief Illiniwek, sported a feather headdress and face paint, as he wove in and out of the school’s marching band during halftime.

In the wake of the George Floyd protests and calls for racial justice, businesses and schools are reckoning with racist and offensive branding. One example: the NFL team in Washington, D.C., just recently retired its name — widely considered a slur against Native Americans — and will now go by the “Washington Football Team” as it searches for a new moniker.

The chief mascot was officially retired by the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in February 2007. Today, the race-based mascot is still a divisive issue on the U of I campus and in the Champaign-Urbana community. People dressed like the chief still pop up at sporting events, merchandise with the image is still sold — the U of I holds the rights — and there are Facebook groups with thousands of members calling for the mascot to be reinstated.

“I’m not certain that the university can move beyond Chief Illiniwek anytime soon,” says Sakiestewa Gilbert, a former U of I professor who served as director of the university’s American Indian Studies Program until last year. Sakiestewa Gilbert now heads the University of Arizona’s Department of American Indian Studies.

Back at that football game in 2006, Sakiestewa Gilbert says “it really felt like these thousands of people in the stadium were having a religious moment,” when the mascot appeared.

During the performance, Sakiestewa Gilbert says a woman seated next to him asked what he did for a living. And then she asked if he was an Indian. Sakiestewa Gilbert says he was asked that question a lot during the 13 years he lived in Champaign-Urbana.

“And I said ‘I’m Hopi Indian from northeastern Arizona.’ And I’ll always remember what she told me. She says, ‘well, why don’t you go down there and be the chief? And then, you know, everything will be okay,’” he says.

“Her comments, I think, were really telling about how people thought of Native American representation, and their own entitlement.”

By the early 2000s, the mascot had become an extremely divisive issue. In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that schools with offensive Native American mascots, including the U of I symbol, would be barred from hosting postseason games. The U of I appealed that decision, but ultimately lost.

Debbie Reese completed her PhD at the U of I and taught at the university around the time that it was fighting to retain the chief. Reese is tribally enrolled in the Nambé Owingeh Pueblo, and is also an expert on native imagery in children’s literature. She remembers protesting the mascot outside football and basketball games.

“We would go to silent protests at the games, where you do put yourself at risk of being spat upon, of being yelled at or being cursed at. Those were always very uncomfortable things, but we felt important so we did them,” Reese says.

She says the mascot is a misrepresentation of native people, and one which has been reinforced by depictions of Native Americans in popular culture, including children’s books.

“The honoring that people say they do with mascots like this is not honoring. It’s denigrating It’s demeaning. And it’s an insult,” Reese says.

Many opponents of the chief compare the mascot to a minstrel show. Carol Spindel, a retired U of I professor and author of “Dancing at Halftime: Sports and the Controversy Over American Indian Mascots,” says that’s a fair comparison.

Spindel says she was inspired to research the origins of the chief after her students began submitting essays in opposition and support of the mascot. She discovered that mascot is based on a character in a Wild West show, which were performances that traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Spindel says Native Americans were cast in these shows and instructed to act out racialized stereotypes and false histories.

The first performance occurred in 1926 during the halftime of a game between the U of I and the University of Pennsylvania. Lester Leutwiler, a U of I student at that time, was the first person to portray the mascot, in a costume he made himself. On the field, he met with a student from the opposing team’s marching band, who was dressed as William Penn, and offered him a peace pipe. Spindel says the performance was a hit.

“Once (the chief) was established, the deans and the coaches imbued that fictional character with all the qualities that they wanted the young men in their charge to have. They wanted them to have integrity, to be courageous, but also to think of other people, to be generous and caring for their community,” Spindel says. “So they said that this Indian chief had all these qualities and that they should emulate him.”

But in interviews with native people, Spindel says she realized that the character served as a harmful stereotype, and she became immersed in protests and actions to remove it from campus.

“When Native students came here to Illinois, they saw clearly that no other group was treated in this way. No other group was sports entertainment. No other group’s image was being sold on T-shirts. So I think they felt that their culture was being trivialized. They felt sometimes in danger here. They did not feel welcome,” Spindel says.

Dan Maloney disagrees. Maloney was the last person to officially portray the chief during the mascot’s final performance at a basketball game in February 2007.

“The intent of Chief Illiniwek was always to hold a culture in reverence and encouraging people to learn about it,” Maloney says.

Maloney says the reverence chief fans have for the character is one of the reasons it has endured long past its official retirement.

“When that’s removed, especially when it’s such a strong source of inspiration to many, many people over many, many years, it can be tough to move forward.”

And many who oppose the chief say the university is to blame for its continued presence because nothing ever replaced it.

“For a lot of people, it’s still the mascot of the University of Illinois,” says Vikram Sardana, who graduated from the U of I last year. Sardana, Maloney and Sakiestewa Gilbert all served on a commission intended to heal the mascot divide on campus. Maloney, and Sardana, who believes the chief is an offensive and racist mascot, were unsatisfied with the report that resulted.

Sardana says the university should have created a new mascot years ago. U of I students voted earlier this year in favor of a new symbol for the institution: a Belted Kingfisher, which is a blue and orange bird native to Illinois.

Sardana says he’s hopeful a new symbol will move the university past the debate over its retired mascot.

“And I think that the lesson people should take from this is that not acting can make a problem worse than it needs to be. That, at some point, you have to rip the band aid off,” he says.

A spokesperson for the University of Illinois says that administrators are working on a plan to move the campus forward, which will include a process to establish new traditions.

But Sakiestewa Gilbert is skeptical that a new mascot — even one supported by a majority of the university’s students — can end the years-long controversy. He says that’s because of all the alumni and fans who still cling to the chief.

“I think this will continue to be a controversy, this will continue to be a burden on the university, especially the Native students who have to deal with this on a daily basis,” Sakiestewa Gilbert says.

He added that perhaps time will prove the ultimate solution to the U of I’s mascot problem.

“But we’re talking 50, 60, 70 years down the road, because there’s this community, in Champaign-Urbana, Central Illinois, and the state of Illinois, that will not let this go.”

Follow Lee Gaines on Twitter: @LeeVGaines

This story originally aired on the NPR midday news magazine program, Here & Now, on July 29. 2020.

Chief Illiniwek

The Illiniwek were a tribe of Native Americans who lived in the region before European colonization. The nickname "Fighting Illini" was chosen to pay homage to the state's Native American heritage and to represent the competitive spirit of the university's athletic teams. The original mascot of UIUC was a Native American chief named Chief Illinwek.

Former mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Summarize this article for a 10 year old

Chief Illiniwek was the mascot [1] 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.

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      For more than two decades, Chief Illiniwek had been the center of a controversy between fans and alumni who view the mascot as part of the UIUC tradition; while Native American individuals and organizations, social scientists, and educators view such mascots as cultural appropriation of indigenous images and rituals, which perpetuate 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 from full participation in postseason activities as long as they continued to use such mascots. [2] [3]

      The University of Illinois retired Chief Illiniwek in 2007, with his last official performance on February 21, 2007. [4] UIUC has not selected a replacement. A non-binding resolution to make "Alma Otter" the official mascot was placed on the spring 2019 student election ballot, but failed to receive a majority, although some see the vote as a sign of progress. [5] In 2020 the belted kingfisher received a majority of student votes as a possible new mascot. [6] In September 2020 the University Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the kingfisher as the new mascot, voting 105 to 2 with 4 abstaining. [7] Support is building on campus and among alumni for the kingfisher, [8] but as of December, 2022 some alumni are opposed to the new mascot, and several online petitions continue to advocate for the return of Chief Illiniwek. [9]

      Supporters of Chief Illiniwek sometimes object to the use of the term "mascot", and instead refer to the Chief as a "symbol" of the university. [10]

      Oops something went wrong:

      Chief Illiniwek

      Chief Illiniwek was the official mascot of the University of Illinois from the 1920s until 2007 when it was retired. The first chief costume was fashioned in 1926 by Lester Leutwiler, a student who drew on his experience as an Eagle Scout and knowledge of Native American folktales and lore to construct a costume and then perform as “the Chief” at University football halftime shows. The Chief appeared at sporting events, mostly football and basketball, as part of the Marching Illini band and danced during halftime.

      The later half of the 20th century brought increasing amounts of controversy surrounding the Chief, as Native American advocacy groups protested the use of a Native American as a mascot. The controversy was most intense during the 1990s-2000s, with both pro- and anti-Chief groups expressing their opinions in political cartoons, editorials, and /demonstrations/protests on campus. In 2005, the NCAA instituted a ban on universities with American Indian nicknames hosting postseason games. This potential hit in revenue finally drove the university to relinquish the Chief Illiniwek mascot in 2007.

      In the years since the controversy began, many alternative mascots have been suggested, including the Tully monster, a robot, and Abraham Lincoln. Currently the University of Illinois' mascot is just "the fighting Illini," which is not intended to refer to the Native American tribe.

      Despite the official retirement of the Chief mascot, a new Chief portrayer is selected every few years and appears mostly at non-University events, though he has been spotted at numerous University-sponsored athletic events since the retirement.

      For more information on the history of the "fighting Illini" name/mascot at the University of Illinois, see this University Archives FAQ page.

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      Introduced in 1926, Chief Illinwek became a symbol of school pride and tradition. He was portrayed by a student who performed as the chief during athletic events, often with a headdress and traditional dance. However, in recent years, there has been controversy regarding the use of Native American symbols and mascots in sports, as many argue that they perpetuate stereotypes and are offensive to Native American cultures. In response to this controversy, UIUC retired Chief Illinwek as the official mascot in 2007. The retirement decision was made to show respect to Native American tribes and to promote a more inclusive and diverse campus environment. Since then, UIUC has emphasized the use of the "Fighting Illini" nickname and has adopted secondary mascots, such as the "Illibuck" (a turtle statue representing a longstanding rivalry with Ohio State University) and "Alma Otter" (a playful representation of the campus). Despite the retirement of Chief Illinwek, there are still some supporters who wish to see the return of a Native American mascot. However, the university continues to prioritize inclusivity and respect for all cultures. UIUC strives to create an atmosphere where students from diverse backgrounds can thrive and feel proud of their university. In conclusion, the Urbana-Champaign mascot of the University of Illinois is the Fighting Illini. While the original mascot, Chief Illinwek, has been retired, the university continues to foster a sense of pride and tradition through other symbols and mascots. UIUC remains committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity while preserving the spirit and history of the institution..

      Reviews for "Unmasking the Truth about the Urbana Champaign Mascot's Origin"

      1. John Smith - 1 star

      I was extremely disappointed with the Urbana Champaign mascot. The design was lackluster and uninspiring. It looked like no effort was put into creating a unique and memorable mascot. The costume itself was poorly made and looked cheap. It did not represent the spirit and energy of the university at all. Overall, I found the Urbana Champaign mascot to be a major letdown and would not recommend it.

      2. Sarah Johnson - 2 stars

      I was not impressed with the Urbana Champaign mascot. The choice of a cornstalk as a mascot seemed odd and irrelevant. It did not capture the essence of the university or its community. The costume was bulky and cumbersome, making it difficult for the person inside to move around freely. The lack of creativity and originality in the design was disappointing. I expected more from such a prestigious university. Overall, the Urbana Champaign mascot left much to be desired and did not leave a positive impression on me.

      3. David Rodriguez - 1 star

      The Urbana Champaign mascot was utterly laughable. The cornstalk costume was ridiculous and made the person inside look like a big joke. There was no sense of professionalism or pride in the design. It seemed like a last-minute decision with no thought put into it. The mascot failed to ignite any school spirit or enthusiasm. It was a complete waste of an opportunity to create a symbol that could rally and unite the university community. I was highly disappointed and would not recommend this mascot to anyone.

      The Significance of the Urbana Champaign Mascot within the Community