The Sioux, also known as Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or to any of the nation's many language dialects. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota and Lakota.
The South Dakota Department of Corrections is the agency that operates state prisons in South Dakota. It has its headquarters in Pierre.
Chief Illiniwek was the mascot of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs, from October 30, 1926 to February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake, although the regalia worn was from the Sioux. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches.
United Tribes Technical College is a tribal college in Bismarck, North Dakota. UTTC has an enrollment 885 students, 635 full-time undergraduates and 250 part-time undergraduates.
William Harjo LoneFight, is President and CEO of American Native Services, a consulting firm in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Lincoln High School is a high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Enrollment is currently at 1,966 students. Lincoln was included in the list of the top 1200 public schools in the US by Newsweek in their May 8, 2006 issue, ranking at 1,027.
Charlene Teters is a Native American artist, educator, and lecturer. Her paintings and art installations have been featured in over 21 major exhibitions, commissions, and collections. She is a member of the Spokane Tribe, and her Spokane name is Slum Tah. She was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, near the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Sisseton Wahpeton College was established in 1979 as an entity of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Located in northeastern South Dakota on the Lake Traverse Reservation, the College serves the Dakota people. SWC has an average enrollment of approximately 250 students, of whom more than 80% are tribal members.
The Spirit Lake Tribe is a federally recognized tribe based on the Spirit Lake Dakota Reservation located in east-central North Dakota on the southern shores of Devils Lake. It is made up of people of the Pabakse (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋna), Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ) and Wahpeton (Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ) bands of the Dakota tribe.
Salmon High School is a public secondary school located in Salmon, Idaho. Salmon High School is a part of the Salmon School District #291. The mission of the school is to "provide a safe, supportive environment for teaching and learning." Current enrollment at the High School is 295.
Warwick High School is a public secondary school in the Warwick School District located in Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Mason City High School is a public high school in the Mason City Community School District. It is within the city of Mason City, Iowa. It is located in Cerro Gordo County. The school colors are black and red. Until recently, the mascot was a Mohawk. The current mascot is Mo the Hawk, an anthropomorphic bird, though some Mohawk imagery is still used.
Sports teams named "Redskins" are part of the larger Native American mascot controversy regarding the use of Native American names, images and symbols by non-native sports teams. Teams of this name have received particular public attention due to the fact that the term "redskin" is now generally regarded as disparaging and offensive.
In 2005 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) distributed a "self evaluation" to its member institutions for teams to examine the use of potentially offensive imagery with their mascot choice. This examination was done in accordance with NCAA policy that requires each member institution to maintain an "atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person." Fourteen schools either removed all references to Native American culture or were deemed not to have references to Native American culture as part of their athletics programs. Subsequently, 19 teams were cited as having potentially "hostile or abusive" names, mascots, or images, that would be banned from displaying them during post-season play, and prohibited from hosting tournaments.
The use of terms and images referring to Native Americans/First Nations as the name or mascot for a sports team is a topic of public controversy in the United States and in Canada, arising as part of the Native American/First Nations civil rights movements. Since the 1960s, there have been a number of protests and other actions by Native Americans and others targeting the more prominent use of such names and images by professional franchises such as the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. However, the greatest change has occurred in the trend by school and college teams that have retired Native American names and mascots at an increasing rate in recent decades. The analysis of a database in 2013 indicates that there are currently more than 2,000 secondary schools with mascots that reference Native American culture, compared to around 3,000 fifty years ago. Many of these changes have been voluntary as the issue has been discussed at a local level. Statewide laws or school board decisions mandating change have been passed in states with significant Native American populations. Other states have official policies that encourage change in accordance with principles of establishing a proper environment for education. However, there has also been resistance and backlash, usually when statewide laws have been viewed as an intrusion into local communities, where no need for change has been established.
