The U.S. Division of Schooling introduced Friday it plans to research whether or not New York training officers are being discriminatory by threatening to withhold funding if a Lengthy Island faculty district would not cease utilizing a Native American-themed emblem.
The probe by the company’s civil rights workplace stems from a grievance filed by the Native American Guardian’s Affiliation, a nonprofit that helps “the beautiful artistry of native identifiers in sports and the mainstream,” based on its web site. The group says the funding menace constitutes a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The introduced investigation additionally comes a number of days after President Donald Trump waded into a neighborhood battle over the Massapequa faculty district’s longtime “Chief” logo, arguing it was “ridiculous” and “an affront to our great Indian population” to now power the Lengthy Island district to vary it.
In his Fact Social submit, Trump mentioned he had requested his training secretary to “fight for the people of Massapequa on this very important issue.” The submit was included in Friday’s announcement from the Division of Schooling.
“The U.S. Division of Schooling won’t stand by because the state of New York makes an attempt to rewrite historical past and deny the city of Massapequa the precise to have fun its heritage in its faculties,” mentioned U.S. Secretary of Schooling Linda McMahon mentioned in an announcement.
McMahon accused New York officers of selecting to “prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection the state” and mentioned “it is not lost on the Department” that the state has singled out Native American historical past and never mascots tied to different teams. She citing “the Vikings, Fighting Irish, (and) the Cowboys” as examples in her assertion.
“We will investigate this matter fully,” she mentioned.
“However, the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to interfere with a state law concerning school district mascots is inconsistent with Secretary McMahon’s March 20, 2025 statement that she is ‘sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs,’ ” he mentioned.
“Massapequa has already filed, and lost, a lawsuit regarding this issue,” he mentioned, including how the state had inspired the district to seek the advice of with native Indigenous representatives.
In an earlier assertion, O’Hare mentioned the state’s Board of Regents in April 2023 adopted laws “to end the demeaning Indigenous names and mascots in New York’s public schools,” noting that “certain Native American names and images have been shown to perpetuate negative stereotypes that are demonstrably harmful to children.”
“Disrespecting entire groups of people is wrong in any context, but especially in our schools, where all students should feel welcome and supported,” he mentioned.
Frank Blackcloud, vp of the North Dakota-based Native American Guardian’s Affiliation, mentioned in an announcement that “the preservation of Native themes and imagery in New York public schools is not only a matter of cultural dignity but a fundamental civil right for all students.”
Kerry Wachter, president of the Massapequa Board of Schooling, thanked the Trump administration for “standing with Massapequa in our effort to preserve the Chiefs name and honor our community’s proud history.”
However Harry Wallace, chief of the state-recognized Unkechaug Indian Nation, which has a reservation on Lengthy Island, mentioned in an announcement that it was “ironic that a town that has a history of killing the local Indigenous population should now claim as a tradition a fake image of those very same people.”
