North Dakota to resume use of Fighting Sioux nickname

A petition with more than 17,000 signatures was delivered to North Dakota’s secretary of state office on Tuesday supporting the reinstatement of the Fighting Sioux nickname to all of UND’s athletic teams.

The Grand Forks Herald reported that petitions were counted and numbered, with counting and verifying of signatures starting Wednesday. Tuesday night’s filing will immediately suspend the “repeal act” adopted by the legislature during its November special session.

Then on Wednesday, another Herald article stated that the head of North Dakota’s Board of Higher Education, Grant Shaft, said the board may go to court if a law requiring the University of North Dakota to revert to its Fighting Sioux nickname is restored.

Also Wednesday, UND president Robert Kelley issued a statement saying that the university “has resumed the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo for our athletic teams.”