Go Spirit Lake Sioux!

Today a friend notified me that the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in North Dakota has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA regarding the use of the UND Fighting Sioux mascot:

Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe Announces Lawsuit Against NCAA Alleging Civil Rights Violations And Copyright Infringement at http://plainsdaily.com/entry/spirit-lake-sioux-tribe-announces-lawsuit-against-ncaa-alleging-civil-rights-violations-and-copyright-infringement/.

The Spirit Lake Tribe SUPPORTS the use of the mascot and is right to tell the NCAA to back off. A couple of excerpts from this article say:

…Soderstrom alleges that the NCAA has violated “the religious and first amendment rights of the Dakota Sioux tribes.”  He also alleged a double standard in the application of the NCAA’s policy against the use of Native American names and imagery.

…The lawsuit claims that the Sioux tribe were “indispensable parties” to a lawsuit filed by the State of North Dakota against the NCAA in 2007, the settlement of which required the state to get permission from the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes, but were never included in negotiations of that settlement.  It also alleges defamation, violations of the Indian Civil Rights Act, defamation and an unlawful restraint on trade.

The lawsuit asks that the NCAA’s policy be stricken and that the organization pay punitive damages in the amount of $10 million.

Thank you, Spirit Lake tribe, for standing up for your beliefs and taking a stand on this issue! It’s a gutsy move and we Fighting Sioux supporters appreciate your tenacity.

http://www.spiritlakenation.com/index.htm

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