GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – The head of the Standing Rock Sioux says the tribe will not consider a petition seeking a referendum on support for the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname until the 1,004 signatures are certified.

“We're not even talking about the petition yet,” Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy said Thursday.

The state Board of Higher Education has decided to retire the nickname, which some including the NCAA find offensive. However, board President Richie Smith said last week that the issue might be revisited if the Standing Rock tribe votes in favor of the nickname in a timely manner.

Tribal Secretary Adele White said she cannot begin to certify the petition names until the Tribal Council provides her with a process because the tribe has no formal guidelines in place.

“We want our people to be able to vote. We want to honor that. And I'm trying to be neutral, moving this process along,” she said. “But we need to have standards in place (for certifying the signatures) and those need to be approved by the council. It's not up to me.”

White said the certification process itself could take three months, in part because a lot of the signatures are hard to read.

Members of the other Sioux tribe in North Dakota, the Spirit Lake Nation, last year voted to endorse the nickname's continued use.

–––

Information from: Grand Forks Herald,
http://www.grandforksherald.com