Controversy centers on Engelstad’s gift to N.D. university

Jack Sullivan

Monday, Oct. 8, 2001 | 10:42 a.m.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A ceremony featuring Indian dancers and drummers -- two wearing "Fighting Sioux" sweatshirts -- marked the dedication of the University of North Dakota's $100 million hockey arena Friday amid a flap over the school's nickname.

Ralph Engelstad, whose money built the arena that bears his name, called the nickname a tradition of "lasting value."

The logo, uniforms "and the spirit of being a Fighting Sioux are of lasting value and of immeasurable significance," Engelstad said in a statement.

Engelstad, his wife, Betty, and other family members joined a crowd of at least 300, including North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven, for the unveiling of a bronze statue of a Sioux on a horse. A plaque says the statue was dedicated to the memory of Sitting Bull, the Sioux leader and a "patriot, statesman, diplomat, warrior (and) prophet."

A member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Isaac Dog Eagle, had written to University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella, asking that the statue be removed. Dog Eagle, who claims to be a direct descendant of Sitting Bull, argued the school does not have permission to use the name.

While the arena opened its doors to the public for the first time, more than 300 students and Indians protested a name and logo they viewed as disrespectful of their traditions. Led to the arena by Indian veterans carrying U.S. flags, the protesters ended up rallying further from the arena than planned, after being told by security that the arena grounds were considered private property.

Still, "we were very pleased with the rally and the message we sent," said Lucy Ganje, associate professor of communications at UND and an organizer of Friday's protest march.

Earl Strinden, a former North Dakota alumni director, said the nickname was chosen in 1930 to recognize "honor, pride, courage, overcoming adversity, winning battles."

Engelstad, an alumnus who was a goalie on the school's hockey team in the 1950s, owns the Imperial Palace casinos in Biloxi, Miss., and in Las Vegas, where he lives.

In December Kupchella was deciding whether the Fighting Sioux nickname should be changed when Engelstad said he would withdraw his $100 million gift if the nickname and logo were dropped.

The board voted the next day to keep the name and logo, which depicts an Indian warrior wearing feathers and war paint.

"I believe tradition is important," Engelstad's statement said. "I am disappointed in the modern-day relentless demolition and ridicule of admirable traditions."

The debate over the Fighting Sioux name prompted a three-day conference at the university, "The Northern Plains Conference on American Indian Names and Logos." About 500 attended the conference, Ganje said, including Indian activist and former Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke.

The group isn't promoting an alternative name for the university's sports teams, Ganje said. "We just need to focus on the fact that this name is not right, and find a name that is more respectful," she said.

The arena boasts 11,400 padded theater seats, 48 suites, two club rooms at opposite ends of the main rink and a $2 million, four-sided video scoreboard. It also includes an Olympic-size practice rink, training equipment and a lavish home locker room.

The Las Vegas Sun contributed to this report.