Long Island school asks Trump to ink executive order to keep embattled ‘Chiefs' mascot, logo
As the Massapequa school district continues its tussle to retain its Chiefs moniker and logo, the town is asking its biggest backer — President Trump — to sign an executive order to safeguard Native American names and images across the US.
'It's about not erasing, but instead educating about Native Americans and keeping them on the forefront,' Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter told The Post.
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7 The Massapequa school district is asking President Trump to issue an executive order protecting schools with Native American team names or imagery from having to change their mascots.
AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File
'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.'
The proposal would 'protect the voluntary and respectful use of Native American names, imagery, and symbols,' language in the draft reads.
The executive order pitch would also put a halt to how 'radical state and local bureaucrats are attempting to erase this heritage, tear down this history, and silence this legacy,' according to Wachter and her attorney, Oliver Roberts, who called such bans unconstitutional and an attack on freedom of speech.
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7 Trump holding a Massapequa Chiefs shirt in the Oval Office.
Instagram/realdonaldtrump
President Trump has been sympathetic to the situation, intervening last April during the Long Island town's contentious legal battle over the New York State Board of Regents' 2023 ordinance requiring the removal of all Native American team connections in public schools.
Schools were threatened with funding cuts and school board members faced removal if they didn't comply.
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He proudly declared 'LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!' and even posed in April with school apparel in the Oval Office — in addition to ordering Sec. of Education Linda McMahon to step in.
McMahon has made significant strides in the interest of schools resistant to the ban.
'[Trump] stood up for us,' said Wachter, who claimed 'the overwhelming majority' of Massapequa is behind the push to keep the Chiefs name — and that phasing in a new one would waste about $1 million in school funds and taxpayer dollars.
7 Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter said the order would prevent state and local officials from attempting to 'erase this heritage, tear down this history, and silence this legacy' in Massapequa.
Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
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7 Wachter wearing a shirt with a quote from President Trump.
Kevin C Downs for The New York Post
'It brought great pride in the community, and everyone was really happy to see that he took the time to talk about the Chiefs,' she added about 47.
Trump further broadened his stance Sunday, calling on the Washington Commanders to revert to its long-used Redskins name — which a 2016 poll showed 90% of Native Americans were not offended by — or risk the team's new stadium deal being blocked.
He also urged the Cleveland Guardians to return to their Indians moniker.
7 A Massapequa Chiefs mural seen by the school's softball and baseball field.
Heather Khalifa for the NY Post
'I think that this battle here in Massapequa and President Trump's involvement in our town sparked further interest in the Washington Redskins issue and that of other teams,' Wachter added.
'We're all bringing this back out to the nation to say, 'where does it stop?''
Educate, don't erase
Massapequa's nationwide executive order would 'work with tribes, not against them,' while also giving Native American organizations protected privilege for 'requesting changes to imagery or names that it finds inappropriate.'
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Massapequa has also partnered with the Native American Guardians Association, a pro-logo organization, which has granted the school permission to use the term 'Chiefs.'
7 The Bif Chief Lewis statue in Massapequa.
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
The school district is also working on expanding its existing Native American educational programming in collaboration with NAGA, which recently filed an injunction against the state ban.
'Preserve history, do not erase it; educate future generations in heritage, pride, and unity — not censorship,' the executive order states, adding 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.
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McMahon pushed back on the woke ideology during a Massapequa High School tour in late May. Inside the school's gym, she said that banning only Native American imagery was a civil rights violation and referred the Chiefs' issue over to the Department of Justice weeks later.
7 Massapequa Chiefs softball players Shea Santiago, left, Sienna Perino, center, and Samantha Portz posing in front of a Chiefs mural.
Heather Khalifa for the NY Post
This month, she began investigating Long Island's Connetquot district regarding the restriction of its Thunderbirds moniker amid a backroom deal with New York state to allocate $23 million for rebranding — potentially to an already in-use nickname of T-Birds, which state officials had initially disallowed as an alternative.
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The relentless support from the Trump administration has brought new life to the fight on Long Island — mere months after the courts dismissed the Massapequa lawsuit.
'We're still pushing ahead with our federal litigation, which we fully expect to prevail on,' Roberts said.
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