CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —Chancellor Robert Jones today released an implementation plan to address issues related to Native American imagery, drawing upon input from the communitywide discussion he initiated in 2018.
The implementation plan includes actions in the next three years:
- Students enrolled as citizens of any federally recognized tribal nation may attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at the same tuition rate as in-state students.
- The university will strengthen its partnership with the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, while also developing new relationships with other Native American nations who called Illinois home.
- The university will explore permanent structures to acknowledge and represent Peoria and other Native American nations.
- The university’s Native American collection will be repatriated to tribal communities and lineal descendants. Related to that action, the university has hired its first Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act program officer.
- A campus historian is developing an accurate and thorough history of the campus’s use of Native American symbols and imagery.
- Additional faculty members will be hired for the American Indian Studies program, as well as a liaison to Native American organizations and tribes.
- A new student council co-led by Student Affairs, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Alumni Association will develop new traditions with members of the student body.
The chancellor’s website will provide updates on the implementation plan progress.
Editor’s note: For more information, contact Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for public affairs, 217-333-5010, publicaffairs@illinois.edu