Illiniwek perform at half time. This may soon be the case. Many Native Americans feel

that the symbol of Chief Illiniwek portrays a racist stereotype, but because Chief Illiniwek

represents the pride for athletics, as well as respect for the University of Illinois itself, he

should not be dismissed as mascot and swapped with some common, unoriginal

replacement. The dismissal of the chief would be an outrage.

The tradition of Chief Illiniwek was started on October 30, 1926, during a football

game against the University of Pennsylvania(Beckham 1). Also according to Beckham,

Lester Leutweiler, who portrayed the first Chief Illiniwek, was chosen because he had

studied Native American dance and leather work as a boy scout. Leutweiler made the first

Chief Illiniwek custom and created the first dance(1). Of all the students that have

portrayed Chief Illiniwek, only one was a female. The second student who portrayed

Chief Illiniwek was Webber Borchers. Borchers was the first student who portrayed the

chief to wear an authentic Native American outfit. He traveled to a South Dakota

racist caricature("Revisit" 2). Chief Illiniwek's image has been emblazoned on apparel and

1). This celebrated tradition has been performed at the conclusion of every half time show

nicknames, symbols, and rituals at sporting events. In Los Angeles, "In Whose Honor?"

On October 16, 1998 Charlene Teters, founder of anti-chief movement, spoke at

and bibulous(Cahill 22). Does that constitute grounds for protest by Irish-Americans?

Some common words found in the essay are:
University Illinois, Chief Illiniwek, Native Americans, Native American, Oglala-Lakota Sioux, Drinking Illini, Notre Dame's, Chief Illiniwek's, American Indian, According Fialkowski, chief illiniwek, university illinois, native american, fools crow, native americans, chief fools, chief fools crow, portrayed chief, american indian, illiniwek mascot, racist stereotype, portrayed chief illiniwek, tradition chief illiniwek, chief illiniwek mascot, student portrayed chief,
Approximate Word count = 1986
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)