BOHEMIA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York school district is “erasing its Native American heritage” and violating civil rights law by changing its team name from the “Thunderbirds” to the “T-Birds,” federal education officials say.
The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that the Connetquot Central School District can voluntarily resolve the federal law violation by restoring the “rightful” Thunderbirds’ name.
The Long Island district, like others in the state, changed its team name in order to comply with state regulations banning Native American sports names and mascots.
But federal education officials argue the state mandate violates civil rights law because it allows schools to continue using names derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the “Dutchmen” and “Huguenots.”
“We will not allow ideologues to decide that some mascots based on national origin are acceptable while others are banned,” said Kimberly Richey, who heads the Education Department’s civil rights office. “The Trump Administration will not relent in ensuring that every community is treated equally under the law.”
The school district said it is reviewing the federal finding, but state education officials excoriated it, saying the conclusion “makes a mockery” of the nation’s civil rights laws.
“USDOE has offered no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing a team name from Thunderbirds to T-birds,” JP O’Hare, spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement Friday. “NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people.”
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The state education department and the school district reached an agreement last year in which Connetquot would be allowed to use the “T-Birds” name and related imagery such as an eagle, thunderbolt or lightning bolt, in exchange for dropping its legal challenge to the state’s Native American mascot ban.
Native American advocates say the “Thunderbird” is a mythical creature often depicted as a powerful spirit and benevolent protector in many indigenous traditions.
