NYS Native American mascot ban: Connetquot district broke civil rights law by changing nickname, federal Education Dept. says

The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday announced that the Connetquot school district violated civil rights law when it agreed to rebrand as the "T-Birds" to comply with the state's ban on Native American mascots and other imagery in public schools.

The district, which had initially fought the ban, approved a settlement in September with the state that called for it to drop its nickname, the Thunderbirds.

An investigation by the federal Education Department's Office of Civil Rights determined that by abandoning the Thunderbirds, a name with Native American roots, the district “engaged in race- and national-origin-based discrimination” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the education department

“Today, we found Connetquot Central School District in violation of Title VI for erasing its Native American heritage to comply with a discriminatory New York state regulation,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “We will not allow ideologues to decide that some mascots based on national origin are acceptable while others are banned. Equal treatment under the law is non-negotiable." 

The Office of Civil Rights is calling on the district to revert to its Thunderbirds nickname for its sports teams and "all associated logos and mascots," the federal Education Department said in a release.

In a statement, Connetquot schools Superintendent Joseph T. Centamore said the district is reviewing the report.

JP O'Hare, spokesperson for the state Education Department, in a statement Friday said its federal counterpart "continues to make a mockery of our nation’s civil rights laws."

The federal agency, he wrote, "has offered no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing a team name from Thunderbirds to T-Birds...NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated and offensive depictions of Indigenous people and will not sacrifice the dignity of the students and families we serve for political expediency."

The state Board of Regents in 2023 banned the use of Native American mascots, team names and logos in public schools. The regulation affected 13 districts on Long Island, including Connetquot. Most of the districts have taken steps to comply with the regulation.

O'Hare said the regulation was developed in collaboration with a mascot advisory council, composed of representatives and leaders of Indigenous nations with connections to New York State, with the mission to "end the use of demeaning Indigenous names and mascots in New York’s public schools once and for all."

The deadline to comply was June 30, 2025. 

In May, the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights determined that the mascot ban violates Title VI, arguing that it prohibited the use of Native American mascots while allowing those "derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots.' " The department's investigation was later referred to the Department of Justice.

In July, the federal Education Department launched a second investigation, this time into the Connetquot district for "actively taking steps to erase its Native American mascot and imagery" after the district announced that officials were "exploring options for an alternative mascot name that remains relatable to our community."

In September, the school board voted 3-2 to accept a proposed settlement with the state that would allow the district to use the nickname T-Birds and related imagery, instead of Thunderbirds. 

Harry Wallace, elected chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation based on the Poospatuck Reservation in Mastic, told Newsday in a telephone interview Thursday that he was not consulted on the change. If he were, he said he would have recommended the district create an entirely new team name "because the origin is from the Thunderbird, which is a sacred being in our culture."

Wallace also disputed the federal Education Department's assertion that the state's ban erases Native American heritage.

"Courts have upheld the New York State Education Department's decision to ban Native American mascots," Wallace said. "The Education Department has been vindicated by that, and we continue to believe that they will continue to be vindicated."

John Kane, a member of the Mohawk tribe who sits on the New York State Indigenous Mascot Advisory Council, said team names and iconography rooted in Native American culture do not preserve it but rather taint it.

In an apparent reference to Connetquot's mascot, he said, "Putting a bird in a sweater with a lightning bolt ... It has nothing to do with representing culture. It's a mockery of culture."