SALAMANCA — Public school districts across New York state are being urged to stop using any Native American mascots, team names or logos by the end of the school year, or risk losing state aid.
The one exception is for districts that receive approval of a Native name from a recognized tribe. In the Salamanca City Central School District, this likely won’t be a problem.
The Warriors logo for Salamanca schools was designed by Carson Waterman, a world-renowned Seneca artist who has been recognized for his work for decades.
Dr. Mark Beehler, school district superintendent, did not return a request for comment by presstime Tuesdays.
“It is still connected with our geography and our ancestry,” former district superintendent Bob Breidenstein said previously. “The Warrior logo has a specific purpose and meaning in our community.”
The state’s former commissioner of education issued a memorandum ending the use of Native logos and/or imagery more than two decades ago. And while some school districts retired their mascots almost immediately, others still aren’t in compliance today.
On Nov. 17, senior deputy commissioner James N. Baldwin sent out a memo to all school districts in the state demanding all school districts take action before the end of the 2022-23 school year.
“Schools are learning environments,” he wrote in the memo, adding “students learn as much through observation of their surroundings as they do from direct instruction.”
Penalties for violating the act, Baldwin warned, could lead to losing state aid and removing school officials from their positions.
A majority of the Salamanca City Central School District is located on the Seneca Nation’s Allegany Territory, including its main campus on Iroquois Drive. For decades, the district has partnered with the Nation on a number of initiatives.
With about a third of the district’s students identifying as Seneca or having Native American heritage, several classes and curricula in the district are about Seneca culture, most taught by members of the Nation.
If a school district fails to remove its Native American mascot, then the education department would find it in violation of The Dignity For All Students Act. State legislators passed the measure more than a decade ago to provide “all students in New York public schools an environment free of discrimination and harassment.”
In the summer of 2020, the Seneca Nation publicly denounced the use of Native American mascots, contributing to changes in Schuyler County schools. Odessa-Montour Central School District became the Grizzlies, for example, and Odessa-Montour’s combined teams with Watkins Glen Central School District are now the Schuyler Storm.
However, Watkins Glen kept its “Senecas” nickname but dropped any connection it had to Seneca Nation — the village of Watkins Glen is located at the southern shores of Seneca Lake.
In June, the state Supreme Court in Albany County upheld a ruling from the state education commissioner that held the Cambridge Central School District’s decision to retain its “Indians” mascot and nickname after voting to retire them a month earlier in June of 2021 “inhibited the creation of a safe and supportive environment for all students.”
An estimated 60 school districts in the state still use a Native American mascot or logo, according to the Times Union. And across the U.S., nearly 2,000 school districts also still feature a Native mascot, according to the National Congress of American Indians. While 82 schools have removed their racist namesakes since 2020, dozens now honor people of color.
