Chief Illiniwek

Chief Illiniwek was the official mascot and symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was portrayed by a student dressed in Sioux regalia to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches.

For more than two decades, Chief Illiniwek was the center of a controversy. At the root of the controversy is the view of several American Indian groups and supporters that the mascot was a misappropriation of indigenous cultural figures and rituals and that it perpetuated stereotypes about American Indian peoples. As a result of this controversy, the NCAA termed Chief Illiniwek a "hostile or abusive" mascot and image in August 2005 and banned the university from hosting postseason activities as long as it continued to use the mascot.

The University of Illinois retired Chief Illiniwek in 2007, with his last official performance on February 21, 2007.

Chief Illiniwek and the Chief Illiniwek logo—a stylized front view of an American Indian face and headdress—are trademarks of the University of Illinois. Licensed use of the logo by the university has been increasingly restrictive as a result of the ongoing controversy. Chief Illiniwek is not based on an actual American Indian chief, nor did a historical figure with this name ever exist.

Since he performed many of the functions of other schools’ mascots, Chief Illiniwek is generally referred to as the university’s mascot in news regarding the controversy. Chief Illiniwek predates the use of mascots by most sports teams, making him one of the first. In the final years he did not perform at road games, since other Big Ten universities refused to allow the character to perform at their home games, citing him as offensive.

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