Quote Originally Posted by canuck View Post
I found this interesting article in Wiki about the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Illiniwek

Again I find this sort of thing really sad because in a sense, there is an attempt at celebrating the origins of Illinois that is interpreted as an insult, thereby dragging the symbolism underground where it is no longer visible.
You would have to see this particular character perform to understand the insult. As my brother was a professor at Univ. of Illinois in his working days, I witnessed the antics of Chief Illiniwek [a full paid scholarship for the male non-Indian* actor] at a sporting event. Maybe they have changed since then, but I found them painfully embarrassing. I felt like I was watching some step-and-fetch-it black face routine while the white crowd when wild.

As the Wikipedia article cites the controversy also has sexist overtones.

Since 1926 a total of 36 different students have performed the role of the Chief. All but one have been men: one woman, Idelle [[Stith) Brooks, served in 1943 due to the shortage of male students during World War II; she was called "Princess Illiniwek." *No student portraying Chief Illiniwek was of American Indian heritage during the 82 year span, although Brooks, a journalism major who had grown up on the Osage Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma, was described as an "honorary princess of the Osage Indian tribe". Brooks weighed 90 pounds and her Chief regalia weighed 50. However, more recently the most current "unofficial" Chief Illiniwek has been cited as to being half-Cherokee.
However when it comes to insulting there is nothing that tops the Cleveland Indians logo.