The New York State Board of Regents Tuesday, April 18th unanimously approved changes in regulations that will prohibit public schools from using Indigenous names, mascots and logos.
Under the regulations, school boards must commit by the end of June to eliminate the use of names and imagery. They must be discontinued by June 30, 2025.
Several schools in the region have Indigenous names or logos, including the Cheektowaga Central Warriors, Tonawanda Warriors, West Seneca West High School Indians and Iroquois Central Chiefs.
In Salamanca, where 35% of the students are Native American, the school’s athletic teams also are known as the Warriors. A Seneca artist designed the logo, which is a representation of a male Seneca.
There is a provision that allows schools to use an Indigenous name, mascot or logo that is “culturally affiliated” with a federally recognized tribal nation within the state or a state-recognized tribal nation if they have a written agreement. The school is not permitted to offer or accept money or anything of value in connection with such an agreement.
The leader of the Seneca Nation of Indians said any use of that provision should be rare.
“Respect for Native people and our history should always be the expectation, not the exception,” Seneca President Rickey Armstrong Sr. said “We believe the state’s provision for agreements between school districts and Native nations should be rare and limited, rather than an open invitation for districts to go ‘approval shopping’ among Native Nations.”
The Seneca Nation “will carefully consider how that standard may potentially apply within our community,” Armstrong said.
New regulations also allow the tribal nation to revoke the agreement at any time. The school would have the rest of the school year and an additional year to discontinue the use of the imagery.
An Indigenous name, logo or mascot does not mean a public school, school building or school district named after an Indigenous tribe, according to the new regulations, which become effective May 3.
