Should N. Dakota retire the Fighting Sioux name?

You may have read about the University of North Dakota's "Fighting Sioux" nickname debate in my Notes in the Margins link roundup -- and the latest development here.

Now the issue has made MPR's Question of the Day feature:

Higher education officials have voted to retire the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname by the end of the year, and lawmakers are expected to repeal a law requiring the school to keep it. Today's Question: Is the University of North Dakota doing the right thing in retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname?

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So far the comments appear to lean toward retiring the name, though a number of readers have called the move "sad," or suggested the issue was being blown out of proportion through political correctness.

Steve the Cynic had a twist on the argument:

Whether "Fightin Sioux" is a phrase that honors the Lakota people is not for me to say, since I'm not Lakota, and I'm given to understand that there's a variety of opinions among them. However, the fighting they were doing, at least in the 1800s, was to resist oppression and expropriation of their land by white settlers. Not so with the Vikings, who were predatory marauders. They were among my ancenstors, and I do not feel honored by our pro football team using them as a mascot. Maybe I should be protesting that.

And Rich wrote:

Perhaps licensing the name could have been a part of the solution.