State seeks dismissal of lawsuit over nickname

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's attorney general says the state will seek to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who want the University of North Dakota to keep its Fighting Sioux nickname.

The Board of Higher Education has said it will retire the nickname unless the state's Sioux tribes sign 30-year agreements to support it. In response to the lawsuit by Spirit Lake members, a judge barred the board from making any change until after a Dec. 9 hearing.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem met with state board members in a closed-door session Thursday. Stenehjem said afterward that the state's response to the Judge Michael Sturdevant's order and the lawsuit should be filed by next week.

Pat Morley, an attorney for the tribal members, said the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes should have until Nov. 30, 2010, to decide whether to support the nickname and logo.