NEW YORK (AP) — New York education officials won’t rescind the state’s ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding.
Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive.
The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos.
The department’s civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the “Dutchmen” and the “Huguenots.”
New York officials said they are willing to work with federal officials to “reach a resolution as to the appropriate standard,” wrote Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel for the state education department.
Morton-Bentley also noted in his letter that the federal government’s current stance in support of keeping Native American team names and mascots runs counter to the agency’s previous stance on the issue — not to mention those of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, tribal leaders, state governments, and professional organizations that have long deemed them harmful and offensive.
What’s more, a federal judge in New York earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit brought by some local districts that have refused to comply with the state mandate to rid their schools of offensive Native American mascots and team names, Morton-Bentley wrote.
The education department and its civil rights office, he argued, is “not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants.”
Julie Hartman, a spokesperson for the federal education department, didn’t comment on the state’s offer to broaden its ban but pushed back at the state’s assertion that the agency’s finding was based on “internally inconsistent arguments.”
“What is internally inconsistent is that the New York Board of Regents prohibited mascots based on Native American race or national origin, but allowed mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the ‘Dutchmen’ and the ‘Huguenots’,” she wrote in an email.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week visited Massapequa, a Long Island town that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot, and was among the local districts that unsuccessfully challenged the state in federal court.
McMahon said she would give New York 10 days to sign an agreement rescinding the ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to “erase” their history.
New York school districts have until June 30 to commit to replacing offensive Native American mascots or team names, or risk losing state funding. They can be exempt from the mandate, however, if they reach an agreement with a local Native American tribe.
The state education department said as of Thursday, three districts have sought and received extensions as they work to comply with the mandate. Massapequa was not among them.
