The Tumultuous History of Chief Illiniwek: Mascot of the University of Illinois
Introduction
Chief Illiniwek served as the mascot for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from 1926 to 2007. This article delves into the history of Chief Illiniwek, exploring its origins, the controversies surrounding it, and its eventual retirement. The article also examines the ongoing debate about Native American imagery in sports and the search for a new mascot for the university.
Origins of Chief Illiniwek
The origin of Chief Illiniwek dates to 1926, when Ray Dvorak, assistant director of bands at the University of Illinois, conceived the idea of having a Native American war dance performed during halftime of Illinois football games.
The first performance occurred on October 30, 1926, at Memorial Stadium during the halftime of a game against the University of Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of his performance, Illiniwek was met at midfield by a drum major dressed as the University of Pennsylvania's Quaker mascot, offered a peace pipe, and walked off the field arm in arm. Student Lester Leutwiler, an Eagle Scout, created the original costume and performed the dance based upon his experience as a Boy Scout. Another student, A. Webber Borchers, was the only Chief to ride on horseback around the field and solidified the Chief tradition, continuing the performances and soliciting contributions for a permanent costume in 1930. Since then, the costume has been replaced several times, most recently in 1982.
The University of Illinois was established in 1867 in Urbana, Illinois. Soon after, it began fielding athletic teams named the “Fighting Illini.” The University attributes this nickname to the World War soldiers for whom their football facility, Memorial Stadium, is named. These soldiers understood the importance of comradery in the face of adversity, and so they chose to name themselves after the Native peoples of Illinois that had established the "Illiniwek Confederacy" as part of the history of their home state. The University was as proud then, as it was for many years, to be associated with the Native peoples for whom the state was named.
In 1926, two Eagle Scouts, Lester Leutwiler and Ralph Hubbard, combined their extensive knowledge of Indian lore and dance that they learned at the World Boyscout Jamboree in Denmark into the creation of a halftime tradition to honor the Indigenous roots of the state and University. Unlike some depictions, theirs was not created to portray a real person, but rather a high-minded concept of unity. An original dance was created and performed by Lester Leutwiler, inspired by authentic dance moves learned from his time in Boy Scouts. A common practice in Native art is to never exactly replicate the creation of another artist, and so as Leutwiler designated another student to continue his tradition, small edits were made to the performance.
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The Chief's Portrayal
Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake. A student who represented the Illiniwek, which is the state's namesake, portrayed Chief Illiniwek. The Illiniwek is known as being a complete human being. A total of 36 different students officially performed the role of the Chief.
The costume that was worn came from the Sioux tribe. The costume was sold to the university marching band by Frank Fools Crow, chief of the Oglala Sioux (a nation unrelated to the Illinois Confederation), after being sewn by his wife. He visited the campus in 1982 to present the regalia during halftime of a football game at the request of then-Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands Gary Smith. Frank Fools Crow, a chief of the Oglala Sioux, donated the costume that was worn by the mascot. It is known that the chief of the Oglala Sioux is completely unrelated to the Illiniwek.
The dance that Chief Illiniwek would perform at halftime came from 'Indian Lore' studies. A group of university students who had been Eagle Scouts studied the fancy dance and then adopted it. The style of the dance originated from the Plains Indians, and many Native Americans at pow-wows practiced it.
Controversy and Opposition
Beginning in the 1970s, Chief Illiniwek became the center of a disagreement between fans and alumni who viewed the mascot as part of the UIUC tradition and many Native American individuals and organizations, social scientists, and educators who viewed such mascots as cultural appropriation of indigenous images and rituals that perpetuated inaccurate stereotypes about American Indian peoples.
From the mid-1970s, the Chief was the subject of debate at the University of Illinois. In October 1989, Charlene Teters, a graduate student from the Spokane tribe, began protesting the Chief at athletic events after her young son and daughter's humiliated reaction to the Chief's dance at a basketball game. Soon, other individuals and organizations began to support the Chief's elimination.
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The controversy began in 1989, when then-Illinois graduate student Charlene Teters, a member of the Spokane Tribe, attended a game while holding a sign that read "We are human beings and not mascots." Fans reacted with violence, spitting and throwing cigarettes at Teters. Since then, the issue has been a major source of controversy at the school.
Some academic departments adopted official stances in favor of retirement of the mascot. Student and alumni organizations, such as the Honor the Chief Society and Chief Illiniwek Educational Foundation, are dedicated to explaining and preserving the tradition of Chief Illiniwek. The Students for the Chief group formed in 1990. Among the national Native American organizations which called for the retirement of the mascot were the National Congress of American Indians and the National Indian Education Association.
Those in favor of retiring the Chief contended that the Chief misappropriates and misrepresents Native American culture and perpetuates harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes. They argued that this obstructed the creation of a diverse and tolerant learning community, harmed the reputation of the university, and promoted an inaccurate image of Native Americans. The NCAA policy also viewed Chief Illiniwek as hostile or abusive.
The prevailing opinion seems to be that it cannot be done and should not be done; to suggest otherwise is often grounds for hostility and violence. This treatment of Indigenous culture and symbolism as a taboo subject is nothing new in our country. The very first settlers of colonial America sought to ban Native American ceremonies, dances, and other forms of cultural expression on the grounds of religion. Bible scholars felt just in suppressing the religious freedoms of those whom they deemed ‘savage’ in order to ‘save their mortal souls’. For decades, boarding schools were established and operated to forcibly sever the ties between Native youth and their traditional attire and language. American educators felt just in their mission to ‘kill the savage and leave the man’ by punishing Native children for practicing their ancestral ways.
For many, hiding our history may be the easy way out. There are many in this country who seek to put a definitive end to the problematic nature of Native names, images, and symbols through dangerous activism and permanent bans.
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NCAA Involvement and Sanctions
In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the primary governing board for intercollegiate athletics, instituted a ban on schools that use what they call "hostile and abusive American Indian nicknames" from hosting postseason games, beginning February 2006. The University of Illinois was among the 18 schools subject to the ban which, among other things, prohibited the University from hosting NCAA-sponsored tournaments. The ban was soon expanded to include Bowl Championship Series-sponsored bowl games, starting with the 2006 football season.
Therefore, the NCAA banned the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from full participation in postseason activities as long as they continued to have Chief Illiniwek as their mascot. With the Chief gone, there is still no word on whether or not the university will adopt a new mascot to replace its old tradition.
On November 11, 2005, the NCAA, stating that it had "found no new information relative to the mascot, known as 'Chief Illiniwek' or the logo mark used by some athletics teams that depicts an American Indian in feathered headdress," upheld the ban on the University of Illinois. However, it did allow the continued use of the nicknames "Illini" and "Fighting Illini" by the university because they are based on the name of the state and not of American Indian descent. The university appealed the decision again on January 30, 2006, mere days before the deadline. While the NCAA Executive Committee granted an extension to April 28, the committee's next meeting, to other schools affected by the ban, the University of Illinois requested a longer stay until May 15, the end of the current semester.
Retirement of Chief Illiniwek
February 22, 2007 - For the sellout crowd at the Assembly Hall in Champaign February 21, the big highlight wasn't Illinois' victory over Michigan, but the last appearance of Chief Illiniwek. The Chief has plenty of critics - but at the game, supporters showed how much they loved him.
On Feb. 21, the University of Illinois closed the book on a major chapter of its history. Having performed for 81 years, Chief Illiniwek, the mascot for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, danced for the last time, a move that came five days after the University's Board of Trustees decided to retired the mascot in order to lift NCAA sanctions that barred its teams from hosting postseason events.
February 16, 2007 - The chair of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees has retired the tradition of Chief Illiniwek.
The University of Illinois retired Chief Illiniwek in 2007, with his last official performance on February 21, 2007.
Critics of the Chief tradition claimed that this move was not enough, and they would not be satisfied until all names, images, and music that could depict or be interpreted as Native American were permanently banned by the University. UIUC has not selected a replacement.
Aftermath and Ongoing Debate
In the years that followed, the university would abandon additional Native American imagery including the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk trophy it had previously competed with Northwestern for in football. The University was allowed to keep the name Fighting Illini since it was derived from the name of the state rather than directly from the tribe.
Since 2007, The University of Illinois has been without a mascot and various representatives have held the position that Chief Illiniwek was never an official mascot but rather an unofficial symbol. Regardless of the semantics game being played by university officials, in 2016 the university initiated the process to select a new mascot. Nine years later the end of this process is still not in sight.
On the spring 2019 student election ballot, a non-binding resolution to adopt “Alma Otter” as the official mascot failed to receive a majority. Support for the otter has been in decline ever since despite the efforts of OTE’s own AlmaOtter.
In 2020, the belted kingfisher (a large fish-eating bird native to Illinois and of which the females have orange and blue feathers) was voted on by students as a possible new mascot and later endorsed by the University Senate in a 105-2 vote with 4 abstaining. In February 2025 students voted with 76% being in favor of adopting a mascot but official steps to adopt the belted kingfisher have not yet been taken by the administration.
With Big Ten rival Indiana officially readopting the Bison earlier this offseason, Illinois is now stuck with Michigan as the only Big Ten programs without a mascot. As we all know nobody wants to be associated with Michigan and cheat their fans of the experience of having a mascot. It’s long past time for the Fighting Illini to adopt the kingfisher as their mascot with or without a nickname change.
In August 2017, University Chancellor Robert Jones made the decision to ban the school's "War Chant", in response to critic claims that said the music stereotyped Native Americans and prolonged the divisive debate over Chief Illiniwek.
The Honor the Chief Society
Our mission at Honor the Chief Society is to challenge the status quo and demand a more nuanced approach to the conversation surrounding Native American culture, history, and symbolism. We believe that treating the subject as taboo only serves to worsen the divide that we feel in our country today. The bans and edicts against Native names and images only serve to further limit the awareness and representation that modern Indians seek. Instead of burying the past and destroying opportunities for the future, we should instead be asking ourselves how we can do this right.
Our organization was founded in Champaign, Illinois in the early 1990s, but the story of our mission dates back much further.
In the 1990s, when the Honor the Chief Society was first founded, our mission was to educate the University community about the importance of recognizing the state's Native American history.
In 2013, Peoria leaders were in talks with partners of our organization, raising the possibility of re-voting on the issue of Native imagery at Illinois, provided the University would partner with their tribe. With the University now in control of its own fate regarding their use of Native symbolism, UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise refused to re-open a dialogue.
The image here, presented purely for historical context, was created in 1980 by Jack Davis, of Champaign, Illinois. The Davis Symbol was created to depict the Native-inspired traditions at the University of Illinois as a stoic and symbolic icon rather than a mascot. The Davis Symbol serves as an incomparable image of honor and dignity, helping to secure Chief Illiniwek as a noble example of how Native American imagery can be enjoyed and appreciated with respect in our modern society.
After the retirement of the logo in 2007, the ownership of The Davis Symbol continued to reside with the University. In 2008, Mr. Davis sued the University, claiming that ownership of the Chief Logo reverted to him because of the University's new position on Native American imagery. This case was settled, and the University continues to own all rights to the logo.
Beginning in 1991, the Honor The Chief Society strives to represent and preserve all of those positive facets of Indigenous imagery from which our communities can draw. However, with so many names and images already in-use and recognizable, we felt it necessary to create a logo that can be linked to the preservation effort of any Native symbols that have come under attack. Our organization logo shares elements of Native American design, without using the imagery of a specific tribe or historical figure. In this way, our logo captures the ability to recognize and be influenced by Native American style, moving forward while acknowledging the past. The circular nature of this logo shows the unending influence of Native peoples of this state.
Our organization recognizes the student leaders of Florida State University who serve a similar role in their community. For more than seven decades, Florida State has worked closely, side by side, with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The council's action was recognition of Florida State's continued collaboration with the tribe to 1) include prominent participation by tribal members in many of the university's most meaningful events, and 2) seek advice and direction to ensure tribal imagery is presented in a respectful manner. Florida State University continues to welcome these opportunities to expose students, faculty, staff and alumni to the Seminoles' history and traditions; reflecting their values as an institution - multiculturalism and diversity. In return, the Seminoles’ culture and lore are kept alive.
The Fighting Illini Nickname
In January 1872, the University of Illinois student newspaper The Student changed its name to The Illini. This derivation from the state and university name was the humble beginning of the repetitive and what some might call simpleton nickname that the University of Illinois athletic programs would eventually adopt.
For the University of Illinois, their athletic teams were referred to by several names during this early era of intercollegiate competition including “Indians”, “our men”, “Orange and Blue”, and the “homecomers”.“Orange and Blue” [and White] The earliest known reference to a University of Illinois athletic team as the Illini came in a yearbook summary of the 1907 football season. The Illini nickname would come to be more widely used throughout the 1910s.
The term "Fighting Illini" is believed to be first associated with one of Illinois' athletic teams in January of 1911 in a basketball article. The archive wrote: "Appearing in a January 29, 1911 account of basketball game with Purdue, the earliest use of 'fighting Illini' applied 'fighting' more as a simple adjective describing the team’s efforts (albeit unsuccessful ones) just before the end of the first half. However, by March 3, 1911, the team appears have earned 'fighting Illini' as a formal appellation evidenced in the newspaper report: 'Only a small crowd turned out to see our fighting Illini chase the Gophers back to their holes.'" It became the official nickname for all of Illinois' athletic teams later that March, as aforementioned in the clip from the university's archives.
Illinois, which was founded in 1867, has history with the Native American culture. As for the origin and what the term "Illini" is, it is in reference to the Native American tribe "Illiniwek" which was the name of the Fighting Illini mascot until it was discontinued in 2005. The Illiniwek tribe, or Illini, was made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley spanning from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
Potential Replacements
Should the university fail to adopt kingfisher, let me suggest several other possibilities:
- Alma Otter - a homophone for alma mater that keeps with the tradition of picking similar sounding words such as the Illinois / Illini choice.
- Salamanders - the state amphibian is the eastern tiger salamander
- Turtles - the state reptile is the painted turtle. This mascot would also reinforce the Illibuck rivalry and put Maryland in their place.
- Top Hatters - a Land of Lincoln reference
- Librarians - did you know that Illinois has the top library and information science program in the world? Such a mascot would also add fuel to the fire of the Illinois-Northwestern rivalry considering Northwestern students’ history of bringing books to athletic competitions.
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