歪歪漫画

FARGO -- He could tell the story over and over and if you鈥檙e standing in front of Billy Laverdure, you could roll your eyes in disbelief. That old University of North Dakota American Indian logo? Some of Laverdure鈥檚 Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers at UND back in the 1990s will tell you it鈥檚 him.

Laverdure will tell you it鈥檚 probably him.

The artist, Bennett Brien, will tell you it could be him.

Still not sure? All it takes is for Laverdure to turn his head for a profile shot.

That鈥檚 him.

Now 46 years old, it鈥檚 not lost on the Fargo resident or any ardent UND fan the significance of the logo. With no change in the foreseeable future, Laverdure鈥檚 likeness will live in eternity with lovers of the old logo.

鈥淚 try not to let it get to my head, no pun intended,鈥� Laverdure said. 鈥淭here is so much around it political-wise, historical-wise and it鈥檚 divided a good thing.鈥�

Laverdure鈥檚 lineage is the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians based in Belcourt, N.D. It鈥檚 the home base of his parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

The Sioux nickname controversy was a decade-plus battle that began in the late 1990s and wasn鈥檛 finalized until 2012 when it was formally retired. It encompassed a vast swath of elected officials, lawyers, higher education officials, NCAA officials and pretty much anybody with a public voice.

The nickname controversy will go down as one of the all-time public issues in the state of North Dakota history.

Go to a UND hockey game and the American Indian logo is everywhere. Certainly, there are fans who would rather stick a sharp pencil in their eye than wear a Fighting Hawks jersey.

There have been times when Laverdure has been a celebrity of sorts. He鈥檚 signed UND jerseys with the American Indian logo.

All it takes is for him to give people a profile look.

鈥淣obody believes me until I turn my head,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen it鈥檚 like, oh yeah, I can see it now.鈥�

The story goes like this. Brien was asked by Earl Strinden, the former president of the UND Alumni Association, to come up with five designs for a logo. It was around that time when Brien was hanging with Laverdure and his friends. They played music together; Brien with his fiddle and Laverdure with his guitar.

They were tailgating at a football game one day when Brien brought out his first design.

鈥淎ll my fraternity brothers were like, holy cow, that鈥檚 Billy,鈥� Laverdure said. 鈥淎nd Bennett said it could be.鈥�

Was it?

Brien can鈥檛 say yes. He can鈥檛 say no, either.

It鈥檚 not as if Laverdure was a sitting model while Brien went about his design. Brien says it was developed with a self-portrait in mind and, well, they are cousins.

鈥淵ou never know how that works,鈥� Brien said. 鈥淵ou sit down and start to draw. I鈥檒l go with it that it鈥檚 him.鈥�

It turns out Brien never did get to the other four designs that Strinden wanted. Strinden was sold on the first one.

Brien, incidentally, is not done drawing UND logos. He recently finished a Fighting Hawks version that he hopes gains traction. Some of the coloring is similar to his old American Indian logo.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my interpretation of the Hawk,鈥� Brien said.

So if you see one of Brien鈥檚 friends or relatives out there who looks like a hawk 鈥� go with it.