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(and let me add this disclaimer: I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm neither pro- nor anti-Chief; I just follow the story as I went to school there and it was a big deal when I was there).
As I recall, Florida St. brought some representative of the Seminole tribe to the NCAA, and he told them that he didn't have a problem with the school using the Seminoles as a mascot. This, as I understood things, was the reason they got to keep using the mascot.
In Illinois, the University's relationship with the Illini tribe is...unusual -- particularly as the Illini tribe is no longer in existence.
The closest relative, the Peoria tribe, has had various leadership changes over the past decade and their position has, likewise, changed depending on who is in charge.
"The Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma are the closest living descendants of the Illiniwek Confederacy, having been relocated to Oklahoma in the 19th century. The position of the tribal leadership has evolved over the years. In a television interview with WICD-TV in 1995, Don Giles, then Chief of the Peoria Tribe, said, "To say that we are anything but proud to have these portrayals would be completely wrong. We are proud. We're proud that the University of Illinois, the flagship university of the state, a seat of learning, is drawing on that background of our having been there. And what more honor could they pay us?" Supporting Chief Giles was another tribal elder, Ron Froman, who stated that the protesters "don't speak for all Native Americans, and certainly not us." <8>
Ron Froman was later elected Chief, by which time his views on the Chief Illiniwek mascot changed. His views changed following meetings with American Indian students attending the University. In April 2000, the tribal council, with Chief Froman's support, passed by the margin of 3 to 2 a resolution requesting "the leadership of the University of Illinois to recognize the demeaning nature of the characterization of Chief Illiniwek, and cease use of this mascots ". <9> Froman stated "I don't know what the origination was, or what the reason was for the university to create Chief Illiniwek. I don't think it was to honor us, because, hell, they ran our (butts) out of Illinois." <10> This puts Chief Illiniwek in a position different from that of the mascots of other schools such as Florida State University, whose Native American mascots are not opposed by the leadership of the corresponding tribes. In 2005, a new Chief, John P. Froman, when asked his position by the NCAA, indicated that "the Chief was not representative of our tribe and culture, mainly because the costume is Sioux" <11> In 2006, in response to a widely published column by journalist George Will in support of the mascot's use, he wrote a letter reiterating the Peoria Tribe's opposition to the mascot and decrying that the "University of Illinois has ignored the tribe’s request for nearly five years." <12>"
(from wikipedia)
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