New York state eases portion of ban on Native American imagery at schools
The state will now recommend that each district make the decision on whether or not employees can wear Native American-inspired logos on campus or at school events.
More Stories
The New York State Education Department says it will no longer prohibit school employees from wearing Native American-inspired logos on campus or at school events.
“The Department will recommend that the Board of Regents leave decisions regarding employee clothing, including apparel displaying offensive Indigenous imagery, to local school districts," a spokesperson for the SED wrote in a statement.
"They're trying to make each side have a say, rather than just make a decision and live with it," said Art Perez, a Mahopac resident.
Both Mahopac and Roy C. Ketcham high schools changed their nicknames from the "Indians" in 2023, after the state said any schools that continued to use Native American imagery could lose funding.
"If it offended people who were Native American, it was probably a good idea," said Alexis Tierney, who lived in Mahopac for 25 years and still works there.
But Alex, another resident, argued that Mahopac was "settled by Indians for many, many years, and I feel it's not derogatory. It's complimentary."
Multiple schools on Long Island tried to sue the state over the ban, but none had any success.
Still, the SED now says when it comes to whether or not employees can wear things like an old Mahopac Indians shirt to a football game, it is up to the district to decide.
"What's the harm? It just says this is our tradition and we're happy to remember it," said George Bicket, another longtime Mahopac resident.
Tierney was a bit more apprehensive, saying, "If it's offensive to someone then they probably shouldn't, but we live in America, and we have the right to choose what we want to do."
Wappingers Central School District, where Ketcham is, tells News 12, "The District has yet to receive any information regarding this provision and is awaiting further notification."
Mahopac Schools said it had no comment.
"(The rule change) is just kicking the can down the road," Perez said. "At what point do you just say enough is enough, it's all yes or all no?"
President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the schools keeping their old names in the past, and on his Truth Social platform, he posted that the change is "a big win."
