Illiniwek

Truth can be stolen
My son defends the arching
Need, tradition writes its
Version of history, notes
Our respect for the defeated
On the court the sophomore
Dressed like Irving Berlin’s
Sitting Bull, “he’s an Indian,
Too,” jumps in song the
Kally-yope. In Oklahoma
My friend’s child lives
In her mobile home
Her food stamps gone
Her television blurry She
Goes nowhere
Sees nothing
Aches constantly
Orange or blue
Not in this assembly

One of the dark realities of living in Champaign-Urbana are the proliferation of stickers on cars, The Chief Forever, as if anything truly lasted forever. But the local university's long time mascot is a white guy dressed up as a native american (what nation? what tribe? well, certainly not the Illinois nation, and not the Potawatomi either, and not the Lakota; they just don't say) who comes out at half time and prances around like a straight guy trying to be gay and failing. The worse of it for me is that my son, usually a logical person with a science background, will make a great (he thinks) case for why this symbol isn't anything like the Atlanta Braves, or the Washington Redskins. It just shows you how blind we can make ourselves. And yes, I know I have my blindness too. In any case, I don't expect the Chief will ever go away, although his "ancestors" are pretty much dead and gone or living in poverty not in Illinois. Ironic, eh? Oh, and orange and blue are the local school colors. I'll be glad to live in an earth tone town again, some day. The Kallyope is from a Vachel Lindsay poem. Irving Berlin's "I'm an Indian Too," is in the musical "Annie Get Your Gun." Kimb and I did a production at the Springfield Theatre Centre in the late 90s. I have a wonderful picture of Kimberly dressed as a native american. Utterly unbelievable. But certainly in keeping with the actual Buffalo Bill show. I played Pawnee Bill.