The Education Department on Friday opened a probe into New York state education officials for threatening to cut funding to a local school district over its decades-old Native American mascot – an image depicting a man in a feathered headdress, according to a report in Politico.
The new investigation came days after Donald Trump used the power of the presidency to weigh in on the mascot feud embroiling the small Long Island community, and asked his education secretary to look into the matter he called “very important.”
“The U.S. Department of Education will not stand by as the state of New York attempts to rewrite history and deny the town of Massapequa the right to celebrate its heritage in its schools,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement on Friday. “While New York chooses to prioritize erasing Native Americans, their rich history, and their deep connection [to the] state, it is requiring schools to divert time and resources away from what really matters: educating our students.”
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Trump on Monday said in a Truth Social post that he agreed with the Massapequa School Board, which asked for the MAGA leader’s help in its fight against a state Board of Regents directive requiring the removal of Native American names and imagery from all New York public schools.
The school board president on Friday celebrated the new federal efforts by the Trump administration.
“Attempts to erase Native American imagery do not advance learning—they distract from our core mission of providing a high-quality education grounded in respect, history, and community values,” Kerry Wachter, president of the Massapequa Board of Education, said in a statement obtained by Politico.
Trump insisted in his comments earlier in the week that “Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population.”
“LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!” the president declared in the Monday post.