fbpx
 
Roughly 60 school districts in the state of New York risk losing state aid should they not remove Native American imagery and namesake from their mascots or logos by the end of the school year, according to a new memo from James Baldwin, the senior deputy commissioner at the state’s education department.
 

The New York State Education Department has opposed the use of mascots since 2001, when former Commissioner of Education Richard Mills issued a memorandum, “conclud[ing] that the use of Native American symbols or depictions as mascots can become a barrier to building a safe and nurturing school community and improving academic achievement for all students,” according to the memo dated Nov. 17.

But some school districts have still not complied. Among them, Cambridge Central School District voted to retire its “Indians” team name, logo and mascot in June 2021, but reversed the decision the following month with the election of a new board member. Community members challenged the reversal in an appeal to the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner sustained the appeal, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court of Albany County after Cambridge appealed the commissioner’s decision. 

Baldwin wrote that the court’s decision establishes that public school districts are prohibited from utilizing Native American mascots.

“Those school districts that continue to utilize Native American team names, logos, and/or imagery without current approval from a recognized tribe must immediately come into compliance,” he said. “Should they require guidance, districts may reach out to those districts that successfully retired their mascots or their local Board of Cooperative Education Services.”

Never miss Indian Country’s biggest stories and breaking news. Sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. 
 

Failure to comply will be treated as “willful violation of the Dignity Act”— which prohibits the creation of a hostile environment that causes emotional harm to a student—punishable by the removal of school officers and the withholding of State Aid.

Nearly 2,000 school districts nationwide still feature a Native mascot, according to the National Congress of American Indians’ most recent count on Nov. 15, 2022. The State Education Department estimated in summer 2022 that about 60 of those are in New York. Since June, two New York schools voted to remove “Indians” from their school mascot, according to the live database.

More Stories Like This

American Indian College Fund Selects Nebraska Indian Community President, Dr. Michael Oltrogge,Tribal College & University Honoree of the Year 
Navajo Technical University Receives a Tank Truck from Marathon  Petroleum for Its CDL Program
BIE Announces Selection of Dr. Tamarah Pfeiffer as President of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Q&A:  Darren Lone Fight, founding director, Center for the Futures of Native Peoples at Dickinson College
Spokane Tribal Citizen Selected Out of 900 for Prestigious Foreign Services Fellowship

12 years of Native News

This month, we celebrate our 12th year of delivering Native News to readers throughout Indian Country and beyond. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.

Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation this month to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and to tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.

Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you. 

About The Author
Native News Online Staff
Author: Native News Online StaffEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected]