First some background; Here in the USA stereotypes of racial minorities are a popular way of selling products and sports teams. All very much like the Nazi images of Jews, Romany, and Slavic people that allowed them to be thought of as less than human. Until fairly recently exaggerated and demeaning cartoons of African Americans were used to sell everything from pancakes and breakfast cereal to cleaning products. While these have - through boycotts and other actions- become a thing of the past the use of these same types of demeaning and dehumanizing caricatures of American Indian peoples is still common. Sports teams call themselves the Red Skins, Chiefs, Braves, Savages, Warriors, Indians, etc and use half naked grotesque depictions of Native people as their symbols. The Illinois University Basketball team goes a step farther by having a white dressed as *a real savage redskin* come out and do a *traditional Indian dance* in a performance that casts ridicule on the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America). This at a time when the Gov't. and their multinational corporate friends have increased their attacks on our reservations and way of life. Doc OreadDaily@yahoogroups.com wrote: AND IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL Missouri got its tail whipped in basketball last week by Illinois. The highlight film however does not show a man, dressed all in black (probably one of them anarchists or something) burst through a ring of fans and tackled Chief Illiniwek, Illinois' mascot, at half-time. Illinois University spokesman Kent Brown said the mascot has never been confronted before. Chief Illiniwek performs a traditional Indian dance at home games but rarely performs on the road. The performances have been criticized for racial insensitivity. It is unknown whether the attack was related to the years-long debate on campus and beyond over the controversial Chief. If it wasn't it should have been. Several Illinois fans in the circle around the court wore ``Save the Chief'' buttons. Scott Keihl, 24, of Columbia, faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine on the third-degree assault count. Sources: Native News,Daily Illini, St. Louis Post ===== "Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better.It's not." -Dr. Seuss, 'The Lorax' "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759 "You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results." -Gandhi Wonder how james cosners going?