The Trump administration is pushing to retain a Native American mascot at a New York school that had been banned by state regulators, triggering strong reactions from activists.
Last week, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights accused the Connetquot Central School District on Long Island of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It argued that the district changed its mascot from the Thunderbirds to the T-Birds “solely because it originates from Native American symbolism.”
But the district was only abiding by state rules. In 2022, New York state’s education department prohibited public schools from using Native American logos, mascots or team names without the express approval of a recognized tribe, noting that such references could be seen as demeaning or offensive.
As a result, the OCR determined in May that the rule violated Title VI, reasoning that it imposed race-based classifications in education policy since mascots referencing other groups — such as the “Dutchman” or the “Huguenots”— remained permitted.
“We expect the District to do the right thing and comply with our resolution agreement to voluntarily resolve its civil rights violation and restore the Thunderbirds’ rightful name,” the OCR said in a January 22 news release. “The Trump Administration will not relent in ensuring that every community is treated equally under the law.”
A spokesperson for the district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
Meanwhile, JP O’Hare, a spokesman for the state’s education department, accused the federal government of making a “mockery” of civil rights law.
“USDOE has offered no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing a team name from Thunderbirds to T-birds,” O’Hare said in a statement. “NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people.”
The order from the Education Department, run by Secretary Linda McMahon, sparked disparate reactions from Native Americans.
John Kane, a Mohawk activist who advocated for the 2022 New York rule, described the situation to The Hill as “absurd.”
“Part of what McMahon and Trump are suggesting is that somehow they are discriminating against Native people by removing the mascots — when we’re the ones who called for it,” Kane said. But, he noted that changing the mascot from “Thunderbirds” to “T-Birds” was inconsequential. “I mean, it’s the same damn thing,” he said, adding, “it’s a mockery.”
It’s not the first time the Trump administration has become involved in the issue. Last year, it sided with the Massapequa School District in New York after it pushed back against the new state rule, according to The Hill.
The Education Department referred the issue to the Department of Justice for a potential Title VI violation, and it remains under investigation.
“Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population,” the Republican president wrote on social media at the time. “The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept.”
Not all native groups oppose the administration’s measures. The Native American Guardians Association is attempting to stop the Empire State from mandating that the Massapequa School District alter its mascot.
“When we look at other cultures, we can talk about even the Fighting Irish or the Patriots or, oh gosh, there’s so many that represent schools that aren’t Native American and we would never ask them to remove their representation,” Becky Clayton-Anderson, the president of NAGA, told The Hill. “So NAGA’s stance is that you’re not going to discriminate against one group, unless you are going to discriminate against all groups…”
The federal versus state showdown comes as multiple states in recent years have banned Native American imagery from school logos, some in response to accusations of racism. Between 2022 and 2023, upwards of 16 schools altered their mascots, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
Several professional sports teams have also rebranded, including the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians, both of which changed their names several years ago amid criticism of their Native American–themed names and imagery.
Trump has called for both teams to revert to their former names.
At the same time, his administration has pushed to ban “woke” and DEI policies from government institutions. In March, he signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which aimed to purge “partisan ideology” from federal sites and combat “historical revision.”
Polls from recent years reveal the public is divided over Native American mascots — and what exactly they represent.
According to a 2021 Nielsen survey, 30 percent of people aged 16-20 view Native American mascots as “honoring,” while 62 percent of those aged 35 to 54 said the same, illustrating a significant generational gap.
And a 2016 Washington Post poll found that 9 out of 10 Native Americans were not offended by the Washington Redskins name — which was later rebranded to the Commanders.
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