Are we ready to finally leave The Chief behind?

This summer, when junior history major Alex Villanueva thought about his plans for his term in the student senate, his mind turned to the divisions within the campus. With the Steven Salaita scandal still fresh in UIUC’s mind, Alex wanted to find something to bring people together. Alex put it upon himself to create an ad-hoc committee in the senate to discuss the possibility trying to find a way to bring a new mascot to UIUC.

Of course, this very notion gives contention to pro-Chief supporters.

“A lot of students that I’ve spoken for almost three years here, they say they want the Chief back, but at the same time I’ve met a lot of students who say, ‘I don’t care, I just want a mascot,’” Alex said. “I’ve also met a lot of students who are pro-Chief, but they recognize that the Chief isn’t coming back and they want something to fill that void.”

Alex Villanueva (left) and Ivan Dozier (right) sit side by side during committee meeting

With the chancellor’s support, Alex created a 12 member committee of undergraduates and graduates charged with understanding UIUC’s current atmosphere in regards to a new mascot. Their plan is to speak with various members of the campus community, including alumni and activist groups, in order to make their report. They hope to present the chancellor with a detailed report on their findings by mid-April.

Alex believes the committee must operate under the conception that the Chief will never come out of retirement.

In 2007 the NCAA said all colleges with Native American mascots must have the blessing of the tribes they emulate in order to host post season tournaments. Even though Chief Illiniwek technically does not represent a particular tribe or individual, the NCAA charged the Peoria Tribe in Oklahoma to determine the Chief’s representation of Native American heritage. As of now they have not conceded to Chief Illiniwek and he remains in retirement.

“We can’t have the Chief even if we wanted to,” Alex said. “People say, ‘Why don’t we bring the Chief back?’ Well, because the NCAA said no. If we bring any Native American imagery whatsoever—even feathers, if we put feathers on our memorabilia the NCAA can say, ‘You’re not going to any playoffs’ or ‘you’re not allowed to compete at any other universities. The NCCAA is very strict.”

The committee has met twice so far. Each member was decided by Alex and student president Mitch Dickey.

“I knew from the first part that it was going to be a very polarized group, people who want a mascot, people who don’t want a mascot,” Alex said. “We went the applications, myself and student president Mitch Dickey, we went through the applications. Most students agreed they wanted to see a process, some didn’t. We accepted people not on that but on the merit of their application, their involvement.”

One committee member who doesn’t wan to see the charge completed is Ivan Dozier. Ivan, a graduate student, was the Chief portrayer for the past five years. Part Cherokee, Ivan feels that the Chief creates unity and also allows Native American heritage to be seen, albeit inaccurately,  across the campus.

“I was there from the beginning to try to stop the committee leaders, and when I found that they were having an open call for people to be on the committee, I jumped at the opportunity,” Ivan said. “A lot of the people making the decision on this front are not educated, and I’m saying that not necessarily in general, obviously they’re intelligent individuals . . . but they’re not educated on the issue that they’re discussing.”

Ivan believes that the inclusion of a new mascot demeans the Chief’s place in UIUC’s history. He also claims the Peoria tribe might sign off on the Chief in the near future, thereby allowing administration to reinstate him as our official symbol.

“I think a lot of the people have been biased, hypocritical and uneducated with their rhetoric regarding Chief Illiniwek, and I’m just there to be the voice or reason, whether or not they choose to listen to me,” he said.

Their next meeting will be held today at 5:00 p.m. at the Illini Union, where the committee will invite the general public to voice their opinions on the matter.