Massapequa residents are hosting a “Save the Chief” festival fund-raiser on Saturday, June 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of Massapequa High School to raise money for the school district as it attempts to keep its name, mascot and logo.
The event will feature local vendors, restaurants, food trucks, a dunk tank, Massapequa stickers and magnets, give-aways and live music, according to Janice Talento, who is in charge of organizing the fund-raiser.
“My kids all graduated from Massapequa High School. They were Chiefs. They will always be Chiefs,” Talento said.
The festival will be hosted by the Save The Chief Foundation, which was created after a federal judge dismissed the district’s, lawsuit and three others from separate Long Island School districts against the state’s Board of Regents in March. The Massapequa district has since filed an appeal.
Tara Tarasi helped found the Save the Chiefs Foundation and says the event will raise funds to support the district’s legal fees and also help educate about Native American culture.
“We believe wholeheartedly that the Massapequa School District is honoring the Native American people,” she said.
The school district did not disclose to Schneps Media Long Island how much it has spent on legal costs related to the lawsuit against the state.
The Massapequa School District’s mascot has been the chief since 1955. The district also uses a logo with the letter “M” adorning a Native American headdress.
The Board of Regents unanimously voted in April 2023 to ban the use of Native American mascots, team names, logos and depictions. Schools were originally tasked with establishing a new mascot by the end of the 2022-23 school year, but this was later changed to June of this year.
The Massapequa School District has publicly fought against the state’s initiative, and after President Donald Trump supported the school’s fight, the U.S. Department of Education launched a probe into the state for a reported violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in April.
Linda McMahon, the head of the U.S. Department of Education, spoke at the district’s high school on Friday, May 30, saying that the investigation found the state in violation of the Civil Rights Act and that the state will be required to undo its policy or face discipline from the Department of Justice.
“This is more than just a fund-raiser—this is a celebration of who we are,” Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor and Massapequa High School alum Joseph Saladino said. “The Chief logo represents our heritage, our unity, and our pride.
The supervisor called himself a “lifetime chief” after McMahon made her announcement at the district’s high school.
Massapequa Board of Education President Kerry Wetcher called the festival a “grassroots effort” by local residents.
Although the fund-raiser is taking place in the school district’s parking lot, it is not a school event.
