"

In New York, the push dates back more than two decades but recently gained strength — and bite — when the State Education Department sent notice in November to school districts across New York that they had to commit to abandon “Native American mascots” or face “removal of school officers and the withholding of state aid.” The Regents began a two-day hearing on Monday and is expected to ratify that policy on Tuesday.

Under the department’s dictum, schools were given until the end of the 2022-23 school year in June to comply or commit to changing team names, logos or imagery that touched on Native culture, with final changes to be completed by June 30, 2025. Last year, the state estimated that about 60 districts were still using such iconography or names, though some have since retired those mascots.

“Students learn as much through observation of their surroundings as they do from direct instruction,” the letter read. “Boards of education that continue to utilize Native American mascots must reflect upon the message their choices convey to students, parents, and their communities.”

Names and imagery that mock, degrade and devalue Native heritage, culture and people have no place in our society,” Mr. Armstrong said, adding, “The historic decimation of Native people should not be celebrated in any fashion or used as a community rallying cry, especially in the realm of education.”

James N. Baldwin, the state’s senior deputy commissioner for education policy and author of the November memo, said that the state’s latest effort to end mascot use is part of an effort to expand diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/nyregion/ny-mascots.html?smid=tw-share


I wonder what other D. E. I. Efforts are in the works?  Probably mandated recognition and use of preferred pronouns etc.

It seems ironic to me that these schools all chose Indian mascots to honor the past and yet nowadays its is turned completely on ear, and we're all supposed to applaud the change.

I am waiting to see when they apply the same logic here and tell government entities to cease using Indian based mascots. Just off the top of my head, the Town of North Hempstead uses an Indian head in its seal:

 

I was also going to point out the Village of Bayville but I see they recently dropped the Indian head from their village seal after who knows how many decades.

I graduated college nearly 30 years ago. My senior year they changed the mascot from a proud Native American Warrior to a blue hawk. Every year when they call asking for a donation I remind them why they will never receive a damned penny.

The woke (dumbacraps)  asshats need to be shipped to Africa and see how life is really like with no way of returning back to the USA.

I see they were trying to push this crap in 2021 down in wappingers centeral school district.   Go Indians !!!! .. I graduated in 1987 and I don't think the values that the district had back than are still here today.. What a shame.

https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/education/2021/08/03/ketcham-indians-nickname-remains-change-happens-elsewhere/5430165001/

Shenedahowa.
My senior class got to vote to remake the mascot from the tribesmen to something new.
We didn't want it changed, so we overwhelmingly voted in a Raptor as our new mascot as a fuck you.
Well that wasn't what the system wanted and now it's a horse.
I could care less about the mascots. But the names shouldn't change.

My first high school (Freshman year) we were "The Baymen", which is the term going back to the 1800's for the guys who work the bay harvesting oysters. To date I have not heard any push to scrap that name despite it not being "gender neutral"

My second, and graduating high school, we are/were "The Vikings". There was a woke push a few years ago to replace "The Vikings" with some mascot that is "not white" and racist (in a district that is probably 90% white - most likely started by a small group of privileged white Progressive women of which we have more than our fair share). That push blew up into an awesome rejection by the community so we remain "The Vikings". Some comments against by long time residents where not fit for publication without "**#$&*$%*&"

LOL, another Shen grad!  When I was there, we were proudly the Plainsmen but I was long gone by the time the mascot became an angry looking horse.  Just wait until the social justice protest du jour changes again, the horse will probably be removed because it symbolizes cruelty to animals or something!  Then they can change it to something else until that becomes unpopular, then something else, etc, etc, etc.

Silly games for silly people.

So the Webster Warriors will have to change their team name even though their mascot is a knight with with two swords. The world is imploding.

https://www.maxpreps.com/ny/webster/webster-schroeder-warriors/

Local to me. Saranac Chiefs. State told them if they don't change it they are withholding 16 million dollars in funding.

How that isn't basically extorsion is beyond me.

How soon before they demand all districts and towns change their native names.
So long to every school in Sachem's school district Suffolk county.

They better start renaming towns, lakes, and rivers, too.

They will.

Trayvon County

Floyd River

Lake Shaniqua

What if the School is on or predominantly Native (Aboriginal)?

How about the Schools with names like "Blue/Red Devils" isn't that a nod to Satanism, which is a religion? can't have that either can we?

Schools can get permission from a tribe, supposedly the Mohawks gave Amsterdam's school permission? (Maybe it wasn't Amsterdam.)  Not all Indians are on board with this BS and they understand the names were a commemoration or tribute to them during a romantic era.  Banning them effectively shoves them further out of sight and out of mind.

Indeed.

Imagine what the students are learning from this exercise in dysfunctional mandates.

According to local news, the Massapequa Chiefs will cease to exist in the near future with the residents picking up the tab to rebrand.

If "Chiefs" is a naughty word now, then when are we going to dump Fire Chief and Chief Executive Officer as just two examples? Obviously those are bad titles to have. Apparently "Warriors" is bad too. I wonder if the Roman Warriors knew that?