Mascots are meant to embody the people of the region and school it represents, but few have brought on as much scrutiny as the Illinois Fighting Illini‘s mascot.
A controversial symbol meant to elicit school pride, what is the history behind the Fighting Illini’s mascot?
Who (or What) Is the Fighting Illini Mascot?
Illinois had a mascot for over 80 years, Chief Illiniwek, before disbanding the practice and “retiring” its mascot in 2007.
The first mascot performance at football games started in 1926 with a student dressed in Native American attire. Chief Illiniwek is not based on an actual American Indian chief, nor did a historical figure with this name ever exist, according to the school.
Since the 1970s, Native American individuals and organizations have viewed mascots like Chief Illiniwek as cultural appropriation of indigenous images and rituals, leading to the school’s decision to forgo an official mascot after mounting pressure.
Potential replacements have been initiated, with an “Alma Otter” vote failing to reach a majority in 2019, but for now, the Fighting Illini remains without an official mascot.
Why Is Fighting Illini the Mascot?
Meant as a symbolic representative of the Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, a group of Native Americans made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley.
The term “Illini” dates back to 1874, when the school’s newspaper changed its name from The Student to The Illini in January of that year.
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After years of being used only to refer to the university’s students and faculty, the Fighting Illini moniker was unofficially adopted via general consensus sometime between 1921 and 1930.
Despite being embroiled in controversy and even labeled a “hostile or abusive” mascot by the NCAA, Illinois has maintained the Fighting Illini symbol, stating that the Illini nickname doesn’t refer to the first nation inhabitants of the same land.
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