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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 Chief appeared at the home football game against Pennsylvania that year, dancing to the newly-written “March of the Illini” before going to midfield to meet a Pennsylvania band member dressed up as a Quaker, and smoke a peace pipe. Chief Illiniwek’s dance is loosely patterned after Native American ceremonial fancy dance.
Chief Illiniwek, the former mascot for the University of Illinois, became the subject of protest in 1988. [18] In 1990 the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois called the mascot a dignified symbol: "His ceremonial dance is done with grace and beauty.
In 1989, she reacted strongly to the performance of a pseudo-Native American dance by a European American student portraying "Chief Illiniwek" at a university basketball game and soon after began to protest silently outside athletic events while holding a small sign reading "Indians are human beings."
The Kansas-based Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation had been trying to reclaim its reservation in Illinois for nearly 200 years.
Chief Illiniwek was a Native American symbol portrayed by a white student. [47] Chief Illiniwek symbolized the Illini , a confederation of indigenous tribes who historically had inhabited much of present-day Illinois; however the clothing and regalia for the symbol was from the Sioux nation.
William Urban believes the Illinois legislature is trying to outdo itself in eradicating any indications that Native Americans ever lived in the state.
The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of a loosely organized group of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa , Illinois , Missouri , and Arkansas .