Illinois’ mascot Chief Illiniwek to perform for final time on Wednesday

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After 81 years of war paint and feathered headdresses, the University of Illinois’ controversial American Indian mascot is performing his last dance, but Chief Illiniwek’s image and regalia will continue to be a subject of negotiations.\nThe mascot, whose fate was decided by school officials last week, will take center stage at Assembly Hall for one last performance during Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game between Illinois and Michigan.\nRemoving the chief frees the university of NCAA sanctions after the organization deemed Illiniwek – portrayed by buckskin-clad students who dance at home football and basketball games and other athletic events – an offensive use of American Indian imagery and barred the school from hosting postseason athletic events.\nThe sanctions, issued in 2005, will end after Wednesday night’s appearance.\n“We knew we were going to have to do something to get off the list,” Lawrence Eppley, chairman of the University of Illinois board of trustees, said after the decision was announced.\nStill, the students who currently portray the chief and their predecessors want the chief’s image and the mascot’s related history to be celebrated by the university, perhaps in a museum.\nAnd merchandise containing images of the chief continues to be made by suppliers and sold by vendors at Assembly Hall and sporting goods stores. No deadline has been set to stop making Illiniwek paraphernalia, which the university is paid for the rights to use.\nThe chief, who debuted in a homemade American Indian costume during an Illini football game in 1926, has been a subject of controversy for decades.\nSupporters see the dancing mascot and his elaborate costume as an honored symbol of both American Indian tradition and Illini sports. Detractors, including some American Indians and university academics, say the chief and his dance are racist and insulting.\nUnder the plan announced last week, the university will still be able to use the name Illini because it’s short for “Illinois,” and the school can use the term “Fighting Illini” because it’s considered a reference to the team’s competitive spirit, school officials said.\nNeither of those ideas sit well with the activists who opposed the chief. They say they next want the university to end the use of the names.\nGraduate student Dan Maloney, who dons the costume at men’s basketball and football games, was to portray the chief for the final dance Wednesday.\nMaloney, along with assistant chief Logan Ponce, a sophomore, even launched legal action to keep the mascot out of retirement, but a judge rejected their request.\nLast Friday’s decision by the school meant that Ponce had already appeared as the chief for the last time.\n“My last performance, my parents were here for that,” he said. “If it was my last, I was happy with it.”