In 1930, the University of North Dakota changed the name of its sports teams from The Flickertails to The Sioux (and then later, the "Fighting Sioux"), presumably because a flickertail is a type of ground rodent and the Sioux were considered to be a tribe of Indian "warriors." Also, their teams' archrivals are the "Bison," and what better mascot to wipe out a bison than an Indian? (Given that irony is not favored in athletic departments, i.e., "The Fur Traders" was not considered.) Three years later, and two thousand miles away, a professional football team changed its name to The Redskins. READ MORE