The Trump administration isn’t taking no for an answer in its battle to overturn New York’s prohibition on American Indian school mascots.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Tuesday said she has referred New York’s “unlawful attempt to ban mascots and logos that celebrate Native American history” to the Justice Department after the New York State Department of Education and Board of Regents rejected a proposal to rescind the prohibition.
The administration’s proposed resolution came with Massapequa High School on Long Island fighting to keep its decades-old Chiefs nickname.
“Both the New York Department of Education and the Board of Regents violated federal antidiscrimination law and disrespected the people of Massapequa by implementing an absurd policy: prohibiting the use of Native American mascots while allowing mascots derived from European national origin,” Ms. McMahon said in a statement.
The state has ordered Massapequa and other schools to remove their American Indian mascots by June 30 or risk losing state funding under a 2023 Board of Regents policy barring such symbols without the approval of a recognized tribe.
Ms. McMahon said the policy violates Title VI by cracking down on Indian logos and nicknames while allowing European mascots such as the Dutchmen and Huguenots.
“Both of these entities continue to disrespect the people of Massapequa by refusing to come into compliance with the Office for Civil Rights’ proposed agreement to rectify their violations of civil rights law,” said Ms. McMahon. “We will not allow New York state to silence the voices of Native Americans and discriminatorily choose which history is acceptable to promote or erase.”
Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funding.
J.P. O’Hare, communications director for the New York State Education Department, decried the administration’s latest action.
“The referral of this matter to the Department of Justice shows that USDOE’s investigation was a farce from the outset,” he said in a Tuesday statement. “To the extent that any investigation took place, it represents a blatant attempt to do a political favor for the Massapequa Board of Education. Our education communities, all of them, should reflect respect, not indolent symbolism masquerading as tradition.”
Mr. O’Hare said every school district with an Indian mascot has complied with the policy to “rebrand their team names, mascots and logos” or requested an extension.
“Rather than wrestling over mascots, maybe we could all focus on what’s paramount, ensuring our schools are inclusive and respectful for every student,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ proposed resolution required the state to rescind its 2023 ban on Indian mascots as well as issue a “letter of apology to Indigenous tribes for attempting to erase Native American history.”
Meanwhile, the Massapequa School District is fighting the battle in court after filing an amended complaint last month to keep its Chiefs logo and nickname after a judge dismissed its lawsuit against the 2023 policy.
The community held a “Save the Chiefs” festival at the high school on June 7 to raise money for the legal battle, with attendees wearing T-shirts with messages such as “Save the Chiefs” and “Once a Chief, Always a Chief,” as shown on the Save the Massapequa Chief Facebook page.
The Save the Chief Foundation, which operates the page, said the Chiefs have been the school’s mascot since 1955.
