Trump backs Long Island town's effort to keep Native American logo
'I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School,' Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. 'Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population.'
Trump also urged Education Secretary Linda McMahon to intervene on behalf of the Massapequa School District 'Chiefs' on the 'very important issue.' He compared the school's mascot to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
'The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept. It has become the School's identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, 'Chief'?' Trump wrote.
The Trump administration already has threatened federal education funding for states, including Maine, that have LGBTQ policies that go against the president's positions.
The New York State Education Department banned public schools from using 'Indigenous names, mascots and logos' in 2023, after some schools resisted an earlier directive from the state.
The New York State Board of Regents cited research from the American Psychological Association that found 'the continued use of American Indian mascots, symbols, images, and personalities has a negative effect on not only American Indian students but all students.'
Massapequa and the nearly five dozen other state school districts with mascots that violated the order would risk losing state funding if they didn't change them this year.
A state judge dismissed the Massapequa school district's lawsuit challenging the directive last month. The New York Post reported the school board then asked the Trump administration to intervene.
The district and town are named for the Marsapeague tribe that lived on Long Island before European settlers arrived in the 1600s. The school's logos include an 'M' topped with a feathered headdress and a Native American man depicted in a warbonnet.
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