So Long, Chief -- And Don't Come Back, Now

It’s about damn time.

The University of Illinois had to drop Chief Illiniwek sooner or later, ever since the debate was first raised on campus, which happened at least as long ago as 1989. At an institution of higher learning, a race-based debate is going to continue raging until the objects or behaviors that are deemed offensive are put to an end.

That end will come on Wednesday, when Chief Illiniwek will make his last halftime dance during the Illinois-Michigan basketball game. The University, under the shadow of sanctions from the NCAA that would prevent postseason games in any sport from being played on campus, abruptly retired the Chief just before the students who portrayed him had their first hearing in a lawsuit to save the mascot.

It’s unfortunate that the NCAA overstepped its bounds to force the university’s hand. Then again, it’s really unfortunate that the university saw fit to continue this embarrassing ritual after nearly 20 years of controversy.

Because in this debate, the people who were offended really did have a point. The Chief’s outfit and dance were so obviously bastardized to fit an anglo view of the world that the university’s claims of authenticity made us a laughingstock in the rest of the Big Ten.

Of course, I’ve been anti-Chief since my earliest days at a student in Champaign because of the massive hypocrisy of the whole thing. The university claimed the Chief was a symbol used in respect of Native Americans, but how can you show respect to a people by continually engaging in behavior that offends them? Anyone is free to agree or disagree as to whether the Chief should offend Native Americans, but the fact is that it did, and failing to acknowledge that is extremely disrespectful.

Granted, my student days were a long time ago, and in the many, many years that followed I’ve come to understand why massive organizations do things the way they do. Still, you’d like to see a purportedly enlightened institution rise just a little bit above all of that. And you’d really like to see a purportedly enlightened institution show enough common courtesy to stop doing something that truly is legitimately hurting someone.

So now we say good riddance to the Chief, and for the first time in my Illini fandom I’ll finally be able to watch an entire halftime performance. I think the orange-and-blue-bleeders out there who rabidly hope to save the Chief will be pleasantly surprised to see how united Illini Nation can become now that this painful episode is behind us.