US EditionNY School District Probed over Push to 'Erase' Native American Imagery
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, JUL 8 – The investigation examines whether the school district’s efforts to comply with a state mascot ban violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, risking loss of federal funding, officials said.
- In 2023, New York's Board of Regents banned public schools from using Native American mascots, logos, and team names, affecting 13 districts including Connetquot and Massapequa.
- The ban came after years of efforts to eliminate Indigenous mascots, recent court battles involving four school districts, and a complaint submitted by the Native American Guardians Association.
- In May, Education Secretary Linda McMahon toured Massapequa High School, supported keeping the 'Chiefs' nickname, and announced a federal probe into Connetquot's plan to drop its 'Thunderbirds' mascot.
- McMahon denounced New York's regulation as an unreasonable policy that unjustly bans Native American mascots while permitting those with European origins, stating that the state's condescending approach to Native American heritage needs to change.
- The controversy highlights federal-state tensions over cultural representation in schools, with the Department of Education finding New York's ban violates civil rights law and ongoing investigations and lawsuits continuing.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Daily Journal
NY school district probed over push to 'erase' Native American imagery
(The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a New York school district it claims is trying to "erase" its Native American mascot and imagery to comply with a state rule that violates federal civil rights laws.
Minnesota's American Indian mascot ban at odds with Trump
In late May, at the behest of President Donald Trump, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon ventured north to Massapequa High School on Long Island. McMahon was there to say that Massapequa High School was right to keep its “Chiefs” nickname and accompanying logo of an alternately angry and solemn-looking man with a head festooned with blue and gold feathers. A New York statute outlawing the logo and other American Indian mascots was unlawful, s…
Exclusive | Long Island school district slapped with federal probe over plan to drop Native American team name
The federal government is launching a probe into a Long Island school district’s attempts to rebrand its sports team to comply with New York State’s Native American logo ban.
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