Trump admin threatens to cut NY funding over Native American mascot ban

Business Standard

2 days ago

US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said her agency found New York state officials violated Title VI by banning Native American mascots and logos
AP New York
New York is discriminating against a school district that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot and could face a Justice Department investigation or risk losing federal funding, President Donald Trump's top education official said Friday.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, on a visit to Massapequa High School on Long Island, said an investigation by her agency has determined that state education officials violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by banning the use of Native American mascots and logos statewide.
The department's civil rights office found the state ban discriminatory because names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the Dutchmen and the "Huguenots", are still permitted.
McMahon described Massapequa's chiefs mascot as an incredible representation of Native American leadership as she made the announcement backed by dozens of students and local officials in the high school gymnasium.
The Trump administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes, the former longtime CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) said.
McMahon said her department will give the state 10 days to sign an agreement rescinding its Native American mascot ban and apologising to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempted to erase their history.
J P O'Hare, a spokesperson for the New York education department, dismissed McMahon's visit as political theatre and said the school district was doing a grave disservice to its students by refusing to consult with local tribes about their concerns.
These representatives will tell them, as they have told us, that certain Native American names and images perpetuate negative stereotypes and are demonstrably harmful to children, he said in a statement.
Representatives from the Native American Guardians Association, who voiced support for keeping the chief mascot at Thursday's event, also don't speak on behalf of local indigenous residents, despite claims from school officials, Adam Drexler, a Massapequa resident and member of the Chickasaw Nation, said.
They're Native Americans for hire, he said, noting the group is based in North Dakota. They have no tribal authority.
Meanwhile the National Congress of American Indians, considered the country's oldest and largest Native American advocacy group, reaffirmed its long-standing opposition to the use of unsanctioned Native American imagery.
These depictions are not tributes -- they are rooted in racism, cultural appropriation, and intentional ignorance, the organisation said in a statement ahead of McMahon's appearance.
Trump ordered the federal education department to launch an inquiry into the Massapequa mascot dispute last month, making the coastal suburb an unlikely flashpoint in the enduring debate over the place of Indigenous imagery in American sports.
Located about 64-km east of Manhattan, the town has for years fought a state mandate to retire Native American sports names and mascots.
But its lawsuit challenging the state's 2023 ban on constitutional grounds was dismissed by a federal judge earlier this year.
State education officials gave districts until the end of this school year to commit to replacing them or risk losing education funding.
Schools could be exempt from the mandate if they gained approval from a local Native American tribe, but Massapequa never sought such permission, state officials have said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)