Introduction

Chief Illiniwek became the mascot of the University of Illinois in 1926, but in 2007 Chief Illiniwek was officially removed as the university's mascot. Chief Illiniwek has a lot of meaning for many of the students, alum, and sports fans that have a connection to the university. There opinions toward Chief Illiniwek may be positive or negative; they all have their opinions that form the controversey of wether or not the Chief should remain the university's mascot. Many people believe that having a Native American is cultural appropriation, but other don't view it as a negative or insult. I will explore how the controversy of the chief has developed throughout the years.

To begin, Chief Illiniwek is not based on an actual Native American chief. There is actually not a historical figure with the name of 'Chief Illiniwek'. A student who auditioned and then was selected to become the mascot always portrayed Chief Illiniwek. Chief Illiniwek wore traditional Lakota regalia, which was given to the university by a Native American, Frank Fools Crow. The origin of the dance that was performed at halftime during basketball and football games is not necessarily known. It is assumed that it probably was adapted from the early 20th century fancy dancing that was filtered through the Boy Scouts. The original intent of having Chief Illiniwek as the university's mascot was to celebrate the Native American heritage of the state of Illinois.

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