If we weren't trying to kill all pre-Columbian occupants of what became the United States, we were herding them onto reservations, forcibly shipping their children off to English-only boarding schools or trotting them out for public amusement at Wild West Shows.

But try and turn a Euro-Native encounter into a mutually beneficial arrangement, as the University of Utah has with the local Ute Tribal Council, and some well-meaning busybody slaps you down.

Meeting in - no irony here - Indianapolis, Indiana, the top dogs of the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced Friday that teams would not be allowed to bring "mascots, nicknames or images deemed hostile or abusive in terms of race, ethnicity or national origin" to post-season play.

That includes Illinois Illini, Florida State Seminoles and Utah Utes. The question is, deemed by whom?

By the folks at the NCAA. Apparently more familiar with American history than with current events, the academics suggest that they still see such Native American imagery as misappropriated property - emasculated, defamed and lampooned for the amusement of the oh-so-civilized white folks.

There are reasons for that view, including a previous incarnation of the U. with the blatantly racist nickname of "Redskins." And there are still such offensive names as "Redmen" and "Savages," as well as appearances in Florida and Illinois by white guys dressed in Hollywood-style Indian garb dancing menacingly around the sidelines.

But Utah gave all that up long ago. All that's left is a subtle reference to Indian stereotypes found in the school's drum and feather logo.

So here's the plan.

First, the University of Utah should seek a referendum of all genuine Utes, not just the council, to affirm or withdraw permission for the use of the name they, and they alone, own. The U. should not be shy about paying for permission, as with any licensing agreement, by offering, say, five full-ride scholarships a year to bone fide Utes.

If the Utes concur, appeal the NCAA's decision. If not, or if the appeal fails, it would be time to choose a new nickname.

And it had better be a really good name, one that we all like, because, if this trend continues, we won't be able to call it Utah any more.