Members of a New York school district are pleading for President Donald Trump’s help to save their Native American school sports team name and mascot in the face of woke pressure from the State of New York to delete it all.
The Massapequa school district on Long Island is under pressure from the state to eliminate its “Chiefs” team names and Native American names, but they are asking Trump to protect their school tradition.
District officials are asking the president to sign an executive order to protect Native American imagery for schools all across America.
“It’s about not erasing, but instead educating about Native Americans and keeping them on the forefront,” said Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter, according to the New York Post.
“It’s the battleground here in Massapequa, but this keeps popping up all across the nation, of state educational departments banning Native American mascots and team identities,” she added.
District officials have even suggested language for such an executive order that they say would “protect the voluntary and respectful use of Native American names, imagery, and symbols.”
The proposal says that schools should “Preserve history, do not erase it; educate future generations in heritage, pride, and unity — not censorship,” and that “any institution found to be engaging in unconstitutional censorship or compelled renaming shall be subject to funding reconsideration” by the US Department of Education.
Wachter also said that the proposed EO would put an end to the “radical state and local bureaucrats attempting to erase this heritage, tear down this history, and silence this legacy.”
The state of New York is working against such ideas, though. In 2023, the New York State Board of Regents ordered all schools to cancel Native American names and eliminate Native-styled mascots, and has threatened Massapequa with funding cuts if they don’t comply.
School officials have joined with the Native American group NAGA, which is working to curtail the woke effort to erase Native American history and imagery from schools and communities across the nation.
The school district’s fight against woke state education policy has taken on new life after President Trump again called for pro sports teams, such as the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians, to go back to their proud Native American names and traditions.
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