And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 18:13:17 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (ostrovsky) Subject: URGENT >From: Stephen Kaufman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: URGENT > >RALLY AND MEDIA CONFERENCE > >Outraged by the use of a Native American as the symbol/mascot of the >University of Illinois athletic programs, members of SSILA have planned a >protest rally and media conference for: >Tuesday, July 13, 1999, 10 AM >UIUC Foreign Languages Building, 707 S. Mathews, Main Floor, Institute Office > >SSILA, the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the >Americas, held their annual meeting on the University of Illinois >Champaign-Urbana campus, July 10-11. The membership of SSILA are >linguists and other scholars, actively engaged in research on the >indigenous languages of North, Central, and South America. Many members >have also been engaged in a six week International Linguistics Summer >Institute on the UIUC Campus. Upon learning about the University of >Illinois use os a Native American as its athletic symbol/mascot, several >members of SSILA packed up and left the meeting as they did not want to >have any further association with the University. At their annual >business meeting, the membership of SSILA unanimously passed the following >resolution and forwarded it to the University's administration. > >SSILA RESOLUTION ABOUT `CHIEF ILLINIWEK' > >The following resolution was adopted unanimously by the Society for the >Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA) at its business >meeting at the SSILA Conference held at the University of Illinois, >Urbana-Champaign, on July 9-10, 1999: > > > We, the members of the Society for the Study of the > Indigenous Languages of the Americas, urge the administration > and trustees of the University of Illinois to replace their > `Chief Illiniwek' symbol with one that does not promote > inaccurate, anachronistic, and damaging stereotypes of Native > American people, or indeed members of any minority group. > > >The `Chief Illiniwek' issue has already had a negative impact on this >summer's Linguistic Institute, which is co-sponsored by the Linguistic >Society of America and the University of Illinois. After learning about >this issue, one student left the Institute >immediately, and several others said that they would not have come to this >university if they had known in advance about the university's`chief' >symbol. This is just one indication that this issue is damaging the >University of Illinois's reputation as a leading >educational institution. > >SSILA will not return to the University of Illinois campus as long as this >symbol exists, and we will urge our professional organizations, beginning >with the Linguistic Society of America andthe American Anthropological >Association, to join us in this resolve. Given that the University of >Illinois is an official state institution, we will also encourage our >professional organizations not to schedule future conferences in the state >of Illinois. > >Sarah G. Thomason >Professor of Linguistics >University of Michigan >and Vice President/President Elect, >SSILA, for the Society > > Stephen J. Kaufman, Ph.D. >University of Illinois >Department of Cell & Structural Biology >B107 Chemistry and Life Sciences Laboratory >601 South Goodwin Avenue >Urbana, IL 61801 >fax:217-244-1648 >tel:217-333-3521 > To Comfort the Disturbed, and To Disturb the Comfortable -freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude- public enemy Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
