Fargo, N.D. – Six American Indian students at the University of North Dakota filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday asking to eliminate the school’s Fighting Sioux nickname, one day before state officials are scheduled to meet with NCAA officials about the moniker.
The complaint alleges that a new law requiring the school to keep the nickname violates the state constitution and reverses a court-ordered settlement between UND and the NCAA that retired the logo. The students want a court order directing the state Board of Higher education and UND to drop it for good.
“We want the legislation stricken,” said Carla Fredericks, a New York attorney and enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.
Some state leaders and UND President Robert Kelley are scheduled to meet with NCAA executives on Friday in Indianapolis. Republican House Majority Leader Al Carlson, of Fargo, questioned the timing of the lawsuit and said it represents a handful of people with out-of-state interests.
“You’ve got a New York attorney. It was nice of them to keep it local,” Carlson said. “We understand why it was done. It’s a small group. My job is to represent the majority of North Dakotans.”
“I think there has been a lot of discussion already and tomorrow we are going to make the case why we think the Fighting Sioux nickname should be retained,” Carlson said of Friday’s meeting.
Fredericks said the timing of the lawsuit is related to the fact that the settlement agreement dictated that the nickname be officially retired on Monday, and not because of the meeting with NCAA officials.
