New York State Board of Regents approves banning Native American logos and mascots

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The Board of Regents of New York’s education department approved a policy banning Native American-themed mascots and logos in its public schools, unless they have the endorsement of a recognized tribe. The policy was implemented amid national efforts to remove racially insensitive images and words from various sports teams. 

Key Players

The New York State Board of Regents, comprising 17 members elected by the state legislature, supervises all public educational activities of New York and presides over the State Education Department (SED). 

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), a Native American rights organization, reported that 1,901 schools across the country have Native American-themed mascots, noting that 113 of them are in New York. The organization monitors the growing movement to retire Native American-themed mascots. 

Further Details

Since 2001, the SED has cracked down on the use of Native American-themed mascots and logos in New York public schools, directing schools to stop using such imagery unless they had approval from a recognized tribe. 

In November 2022, the SED expanded that initiative, directing districts to stop using Native American references in mascots, team names, and logos. 

Districts were given until the end of the 2022-23 school year to make these changes. If they do not comply by June 30, 2025, they risk the removal of school officers, the withholding of state aid, and being charged with violating the Dignity for All Students Act, a state law that prohibits “the creation of a hostile environment” that “reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause … emotional harm to a student,” which the SED argued “could be created through the use of Native American mascots.” 

“Arguments that community members support the use of such imagery or that it is ‘respectful’ to Native Americans are no longer tenable,” the memo states. It also referenced a legal case from June 2022, in which the highest trial court of Albany County affirmed the decision of the state education commissioner, who had sided with the Cambridge Central School District after the district retired its “Indians” team logo; the case initially arose after parents appealed the district’s decision to retire the logo.   

In December 2022, Rickey Armstrong Sr., president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, a federally recognized tribe based in western New York, told News 4 the SED’s directive was “a positive step.”

“Names and imagery that mock, degrade and devalue Native heritage, culture and people have no place in our society,” he said. “The state’s decision appropriately suggests consultation between school communities and Native Nations.”

The directive also prompted several schools to seek endorsement by a recognized tribe. However, most of those efforts have been opposed by the Native American community, including the Oneida Nation, another New York-based federally recognized tribe, which said it would not approve any use of Native “mascotization,” The New York Times reported.

Outcome

Board of Regents votes to ban Native American-themed mascots 

On April 17, 2023, the Board of Regents approved a policy banning Native American-themed names, mascots, and logos for all school districts in the state. 

New York thus became the 21st state to restrict Native-themed imagery in public schools. With the exception of reservation-based schools and the approval of recognized tribes, at least 55 school districts will have to “eliminate” all Native American-themed mascots by the end of the 2024-25 school year.

Mixed reactions follow

Some New York state residents filed petitions for their school districts to be permitted to keep their Native American team names, including parents from the Schoharie Central School District in eastern New York, whose mascot is the “Indian.”

“The Schoharie Indian’s mascot and name has been a part of our history for hundreds of years,” the petition states. “There are so many generations who have felt the pride of having been a Schoharie Indian. We do not believe it is necessary to change the mascot.”

Others, including residents of Mahopac in Putnam County, about 60 miles north of New York City, have argued that their Native American-themed names or mascots are meant to “honor” the Native American community, “not deride them.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) disapproved of the ban, accusing the SED of “prioritizing the Far Left mob at the expense of our students’ education,” The New York Post reported.

Meanwhile, Native American tribes expressed support of the SED. 
“Schools should be going out of their way to make children of all ethnicities and heritages feel comfortable – that is what the New York State Education Department is attempting to do with their notice to schools to remove Native American mascots,” the Oneida Indian Nation stated.