ADD US TO YOUR SAVED SELLERS LIST! Nike Heritage Illinois University at Urbana-Champaign Chief Illiniwek banned logo embroidered cap. Buy with confidence. We are a trusted seller for over 20 years. See our other listings. All hats purchased will be sewn similar to hats shown. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 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 media reporting and academic sources 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.

During sporting events, Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student selected via audition and wearing imitation Lakota (Sioux) clothing. The portrayal also included a dance that the originated from the first three portrayers' experience in the Boy Scouts of America, as taught by Ralph Hubbard, who had traveled widely in Europe and America staging "Indian pageants". This dance corresponded to the music and lyrics of the "Three in One" performed by the university band, which is an arrangement of three original songs entitled "The March of the Illini", "Hail to the Orange", and "Pride of the Illini". Please email any questions before purchasing. Thanks very much for looking!!