CHAMPAIGN — A commission asked to determine how the campus can move on from the divisive Chief Illiniwek controversy is holding its first meeting in Chicago today.
The UI announced members of the Chancellor’s Commission on Native Imagery: Healing and Reconciliation,” convened by Chancellor Robert Jones following the report from his “Critical Conversation” on the use of Native American imagery last April.
The panel is led by two co-chairs, Eric Jolly, president and CEO of The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, and Stu Levenick, former captain of the UI football team.
Other members include former Chief portrayers, both official and unofficial, as well as the head of the Peoria Nation in Oklahoma, which opposes the Chief and includes descendants of the Illini Confederation.