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(by Alex Mitchell, NY Post) – …The Amityville School District on Long Island has been [forced] into changing its beloved Warriors nickname under a state Board of Regents mandate to rid every school in New York of Native American logos.
Last week, the Suffolk County district officially rebranded itself as the Hawks, which is meant to show “a powerful symbol of strength and courage,” according to a release on the news.
“While I understand that changing our mascot brings strong emotions for some, I am hopeful that we can move forward together, united in pride for our school community,” said Amityville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gina Talbert.
Talbert told The Post in an email that changing out logos at school facilities would cost about $200,000.
The move comes as school board officials in Massapequa, just one town west, have called on President Trump to overturn the Native American logo ban after a judge recently dismissed a lawsuit to keep their longstanding Chiefs name.
The Nassau County school district fears a mandatory rebranding would cost it upwards of $1 million.
Included in the legal action were two more local Native American-named towns, Wantagh and Wyandanch, which also use the Warriors as a prideful team name.
The Connetquot Thunderbirds — which share a name with a Canadian Hockey League team based outside Seattle, Wash. — were also part of the suit.
In the fall, Amityville backed out of the lawsuit.
Amityville did so only after being priced out by hitting a $17,000 budget cap for the legal battle, according to Talbert. …
Team uniforms and athletic facilities do not contain any Native American depictions, Talbert said.
The Hawks name was chosen through “a thoughtful process which involved input from the entire school community,” according to the district’s release.
It noted that “the district then held several focus groups with various student groups, including Amityville student-athletes.”
The student body selected the name from the top four suggestions and will vote on how their new visual logo will appear in the coming weeks.
Published at NYPost .com on April 9. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
Questions
NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, read the “Background” and watch the video under “Resources.”
1. a) What ban did the NY Board of Regents place on New York schools in the spring of 2023? – What is the deadline for schools to comply with the order?
b) How many school districts in Long Island, NY were affected by the NY Board of Regents mandate?
c) How many school districts are still trying to fight the order? – Name these school districts and their mascots.
2. Amityville had joined the others fighting the forced name changes in court – why did they back out of the lawsuit?
3. Why did the Amityville School District choose the name “Hawks” for its new mascot?
4. How did Amityville choose to the new mascot?
5. The school districts that used Native American images and names like Warriors or Chiefs said they were meant to honor Native Americans – not disrespect them.
- The Native American tribe associated with Wyandanch is the Montaukett (or Montauk) people, and the area is named after their sachem [Chief], Wyandanch.
- The Shinnecock, who traditionally inhabited the area surrounding Amityville, are the Native American group most associated with the area.
- Wantagh takes its name from the sachem [chief] of the Merokee tribe, which inhabited the area prior to the 17th century.
- The Native American tribe associated with Connetquot is the Secatogue, a subgroup of the Algonquin Indians, and their sachem (chief) was Winnequaheagh.
In April 2023 it was reported: “New York will join 21 other states that have considered taking formal action to ban the use of Native American names and imagery. This includes Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Vermont and Oregon that have implemented similar bans.”
The Shinnecock Nation in Long Island said that the use of names, logos and mascots that imply references to indigenous cultures is insulting and dehumanizes native people and their traditions. The Shinnecock Nation said it is open to allowing the Wyandanch School District to keep its Warriors team name if it removes its Native American imagery.
Read the following reader comments.
What do you think? Is a school’s use of native American imagery disrespectful? Explain your answer.
- “It’s only white liberals who this “offends”. I live in Tulsa, OK. Middle of Native America. The largest high school out here is The Union Redskins (look it up). A few years back, they took a vote with the tribes to see if this name/mascot was offensive and it overwhelmingly passed to keep Redskins as the school mascot and name. Left wing trying to make something out of nothing.”
- “Well redskin does seem prejudice[d]. Warriors, Indians, not prejudice[d].”
- “I guess the Yankees (which is an offensive name by woke standards) can no longer refer to Paul O’Neill as The Warrior.”
- “Whenever I use the term yankee I definitely mean it as a pejorative.”
- “Doesn’t matter. Just rename the team and move on.”
- “These names do not disrespect Native Americans, they honor them. Doesn’t anyone else see this? Removing these names is just like taking down statues, and it’s got to stop.”
- “The district should have just change the mascot from an indian to a gang member from the movie “Warriors” – there, problem solved.”
- “I suggested to my cousin in Massapequa that they keep the name [the Chiefs], but change the mascot to a fat white guy in a fireman’s hat and a bottle of whiskey. She didn’t take kindly to it.”
- “Massapequa uses the mascot of ‘Chief’ with profile of a Native American in head dress as the logo. All they needed to do is simply change the Native American logo to a firefighter helmet and boom, done.”
- “Some towns do not realize how racist they are. They had a long enough time to change their name but due to their white privilege they didn’t.”
- “Wyandanch is 8% white. Eight percent. The BOE is 100% not white. But you’re right, must be all their white privilege and not the fact that the community takes pride in their mascot and is simply standing up for what they believe in.”
Background
In the spring of 2023, the New York state Board of Regents issued guidance banning the use of Native American mascots, team names and logos in New York public schools. Districts that fail to comply by June 30, 2025 could lose state aid or the removal of school officers, although the state wrote in court filings that districts that have “demonstrated good cause toward meeting these goals” may request an extension.
The ban has been controversial on Long Island, where 13 districts are impacted. Some have argued that the mascots foster community pride, and that they honor the Native Americans who once occupied much of Long Island, Newsday has reported.
Nine districts have either announced new names and mascots or said they would comply with the ban.
Among those was Amityville, which opted to drop its in October.
But the Wyandanch, Wantagh, Connetquot and Massapequa districts had pressed forward with their legal challenges.
- Wantagh and Wyandanch had agreed to do away with their mascot, which portrayed a Native American, but were fighting to continue using the “Warriors” name.
- Massapequa and Connetquot wanted to keep both their mascots and names — a Native American man in a headdress for the Massapequa Chiefs, and a red, black and white bird for Connetquot, which is known as the Thunderbirds, or T-birds.
Wantagh officials previously estimated they would have to pay more than $650,000 to replace all references to the “Warriors” nickname, while Connetquot officials estimated they would have to spend upward of $323,000 to comply with the ban.
Massapequa and Wyandanch have not provided cost figures to Newsday. …
Excerpted from a March 28 article published at Newsday by Darwin Yanes
Daily “Answers” emails are provided for Daily News Articles, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.
