Chief Illiniwek - History

History

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, Illinwek 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 studies as a Boy Scout. The expression Illiniwek (meaning "the complete human being - the strong, agile human body, and the indomitable human spirit") was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois football team by football coach Bob Zuppke, referring to the Illinois Confederation of Native Americans who historically had inhabited much of present-day Illinois.

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 current costume was sold to the University marching band by Frank Fools Crow, chief of the Oglala Sioux (a nation unrelated to the Illiniwek), 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. The costume contained real eagle feathers, but because eagle feathers are sacred to Native Americans, and because they came from a species protected at that time, the feathers in the headdresses worn by the Chief were replaced with dyed turkey feathers after requests from the family of Chief Fool's Crow.

Chief Illiniwek's dance was derived from "Indian Lore" studies done by university students who had been Boy Scouts. The three- or four-minute dance is based on fancy dance, a style that originated from the Plains Indians as a means of providing a more secular display than purely sacred dancing, and which is practiced today by many Native Americans at pow-wows. The dance has evolved over time; each student who performs the role of the Chief augments the basic performance with his own movements and steps. Although it is claimed the dance is similar to traditional fancy dance, the Chief's routine includes mid-air splits, which are rarely found in Native fancy dance. Only the music has remained unchanged, with the Chief always performing to the Three in One. In the 1990s, literature distributed by the University ceased describing the dance as "authentic."

Since 1926 a total of 36 different students have performed the role of the Chief. All but one have been men: one woman, Idelle (Stith) Brooks, served in 1943 due to the shortage of male students during World War II; she was called "Princess Illiniwek." No student portraying Chief Illiniwek was of American Indian heritage during the 82 year span, although Brooks, a journalism major who had grown up on the Osage Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma, was described as an "honorary princess of the Osage Indian tribe".photo Brooks weighed 90 pounds and her Chief regalia weighed 50. However, more recently the most current "unofficial" Chief Illiniwek has been cited as to being half-Cherokee.

The actual descendants of the Illiniwek opposed the Chief (see Controversy, below). In May 1995, a WICD reporter interviewed members of the Peoria tribe in Oklahoma, Chief Don Giles said, "We do not have a problem with the mascot.". On January 17, 2007, however, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Tribal Council issued a resolution asking that the University of Illinois return the regalia to the family of Frank Fools Crow and cease the use of the Chief Illiniwek mascot. The resolution was delivered to the university's Board of Trustees, UI President B. Joseph White, and Chancellor Richard Herman. The campus' Native American House was authorized by the Oglala Sioux to distribute the resolution to the public.

The Chief appeared at the University's homecoming parade and pep rally until 1991.