Under Trump, a Native American Mascot Debate Is Turned Upside Down

New York Times

a day ago

A New York school district was mired in a pitched battle over its Native American mascot.
The school board in Lancaster, a small district near Buffalo, had voted to banish its 'Redskins' imagery and nickname. But parents protested that the mascot was a source of pride. Teachers arrived to class sporting outfits with the logo. And students regularly ran into reminders of the old mascot in classrooms, gyms and locker rooms.
The year was 2015.
The school district was accused of violating students' civil rights when it persisted in showcasing the mascot, and the U.S. Education Department opened an investigation. The imbroglio eventually ended with an accord between the district and the federal government to halt the use of the mascot.
A decade since the battle began in Lancaster, the elimination of Native American mascots from public schools has re-emerged as a contentious political issue, and New York again finds itself at the center of a firestorm. The state has required districts to abandon mascots that appropriate Native culture, or risk losing funding.
But this time, the federal government's stance is very different.
The Education Department recently began a civil rights investigation into the state's mandate to banish certain mascots after the Massapequa district on Long Island refused to forgo its decades-old 'Chief' mascot, a Native American man wearing a feathered headdress.
On Friday, the federal education secretary, Linda McMahon, is expected to visit the district to announce whether by restricting the use of Native mascots, the state violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal funds from engaging in discriminatory behavior based on race, color or national origin.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.