{"id":4915,"date":"2025-06-18T07:06:46","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T07:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/?p=4915"},"modified":"2025-06-18T07:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T07:12:35","slug":"u-s-refers-ny-mascot-ban-to-doj-over-civil-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/u-s-refers-ny-mascot-ban-to-doj-over-civil-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Refers New York Native American Mascot Ban to Justice Department Over Civil Rights Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The U.S. Department of Education has referred New York&#8217;s education officials to the Department of Justice over a controversial ban on Native American mascots.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The federal government argues the ban violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating based on race and national origin.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York officials maintain their ban is intended to promote inclusivity and reject it as a political maneuver.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Massapequa School District and Native American Guardians Association support preserving Native imagery as a form of cultural respect.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The issue highlights broader tensions between efforts to remove stereotypical representations and arguments for preserving heritage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Department of Education<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has formally referred a civil rights dispute involving the New York State Department of Education and the Board of Regents to the Department of Justice, escalating a conflict over the state\u2019s prohibition of Native American-themed school mascots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The referral follows New York\u2019s refusal to comply with a proposed Resolution Agreement that would have resolved alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why the U.S. Is Upset About the Ban on Native Mascots<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dispute centers on the Massapequa School District\u2019s use of the &#8220;Chiefs&#8221; mascot, referencing the local Massapequa Tribe. State officials mandated the district to remove the mascot under a policy banning Indigenous imagery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the federal Department of Education found the rule discriminatory, noting that mascots referencing other racial or ethnic origins, like the &#8220;Dutchmen&#8221; and &#8220;Huguenots,&#8221; were still permitted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Education Secretary Linda McMahon criticized the policy as \u201cabsurd,\u201d asserting it disrespected the people of Massapequa. \u201cWe will not allow New York State to silence the voices of Native Americans,\u201d she said during a recent visit to Massapequa High School.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Find Out: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/ged\/ged-in-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Fastest way to get a GED in New York.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>New York Says the Ban Is About Respect and Inclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York State officials reject the federal findings. In a statement, NYDE spokesperson JP O\u2019Hare dismissed the investigation as \u201ca farce\u201d and accused the Department of Education of political interference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0O\u2019Hare defended the state\u2019s policy as an effort to foster inclusive school environments, describing Indigenous mascots as \u201cindolent symbolism masquerading as tradition.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also noted that 727 school districts have already engaged in renaming processes, with only a few seeking extensions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Check Out: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/best-global-universities-rankings-2025-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Best Global Universities Rankings 2025\u20132026<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Local People and Native American Groups Are Saying<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local support for the \u201cChiefs\u201d mascot remains strong. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nagaeducation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native American Guardians Association (NAGA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has backed the district, with Vice President Frank Blackcloud stating, \u201cPreservation of Native themes and imagery is a matter of cultural dignity and a civil right.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Massapequa Board President Kerry Watcher echoed this sentiment, thanking NAGA and federal officials for standing against what she called a distraction from educational priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the issue now moves to the Department of Justice, it underscores a broader national debate over how best to balance cultural heritage and racial sensitivity in public education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Also in the News:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/harvard-secures-extension-of-court-order-blocking-trumps-international-student-ban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Harvard secures extension of court order blocking Trump&#8217;s international student ban<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights The U.S. Department of Education has referred New York&#8217;s education officials to the Department of Justice over a controversial ban on Native American mascots. The federal government argues the ban violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating based on race and national origin. New York officials maintain their ban is intended [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[330],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Refers New York Native American Mascot Ban to Justice Department Over Civil Rights Concerns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. Education Department refers New York&#039;s Native American mascot ban to the DOJ, citing possible civil rights violations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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