By PHILIP MARCELO
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) — 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.
U.S. 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 is 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 said.
McMahon said her department will give the state ten days to sign an agreement rescinding its Native American mascot ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempted to “erase” their history.
JP O’Hare, a spokesperson for the New York education department, dismissed McMahon’s visit as “political theater” 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, said Adam Drexler, a Massapequa resident and member of the Chickasaw Nation.
“They’re Native Americans for hire,” he said, noting the group is based in North Dakota. “They have no tribal authority.”
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FILE – Chiefs signs and logos are displayed Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
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FILE – Chiefs signs and logos are displayed Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
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 organization 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 40 miles 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.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Trump ally who joined McMahon on the visit, echoed the sentiments of residents who support keeping the mascot. The Massapequa chief, he said, is meant to “honor” the town’s Native American heritage, not “denigrate” it.
“They’re trying to change our culture, and we’re not having it,” Blakeman said Thursday.
The town is named after the Massapequa, who were part of the broader Lenape, or Delaware, people who inhabited the woodlands of the Northeastern U.S. and Canada for thousands of years before being decimated by European colonization.
But indigenous residents on Long Island have called Massapequa’s mascot problematic as it depicts a Native American man wearing a headdress that was typically worn by tribes in the American Midwest, but not in the Northeast.
The cheery mascot also obscures Massapequa’s legacy of violence against Native Americans, which includes the site of a Native American massacre in the 1600s, Native American activists have said.
Massapequa, which is roughly 90% white, has long been a conservative bastion popular with New York City police and firefighters.
Trump visited the town last year to attend the wake of a New York City police officer and has made frequent visits to Long Island as it has shifted Republican.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Hollywood’s Baldwin brothers and the Long Island’s alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer are also among Massapequa High’s notable alums.
Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.
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