The Masapequa School District’s Board of Education has asked President Donald Trump to sign an executive order, allowing the district to remain as the Chiefs.
The district submitted a proposal to the White House as it has fought against the state Education Department and Board of Regents’ ban on Native American imagery in schools for months.
The two-page document submitted to the president and obtained by Schneps Media Long Island says that Native American names, images and mascots are not offensive, and that instead they are patriotic, historic and educational.
“The ‘Chiefs’ name represents strength, wisdom, and bravery. It reflects the values we teach our children and honors the traditions of Native peoples. It was never meant to diminish — but to recognize and respect,” the board said in a statement. “Efforts to erase it are not only misguided, they risk canceling a piece of our shared history.”
The board said the executive order is about “preserving cultural identity” and “defending constitutional rights.”
The U.S. Department of Education referred its investigation into the New York State DOE and Board of Regents for their refusal to overturn a ban placed on Native American mascots, names and logos to the Justice Department for enforcement in June.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon had spoken at Massapequa High School in May after announcing the department had found the state in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
The Education Department’s website said the state DOE must rescind the part of the educational regulation prohibiting the use of indigenous names, mascots, and logos by New York public schools, issue a memorandum to all local education agencies informing them that they may adopt a name, mascot, and logo consistent with the requirements of Title VI; and issue letters of apology to indigenous tribes, acknowledging that the board violated Title VI by discriminating against Native Americans.
The investigation began just days after Trump had publicly supported the school district’s cause.
“I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and in actuality an affront to our great Indian population.”
The Massapequa school board said the district’s fight is about preserving American history.
“Here in Massapequa, we are leading the charge to preserve what is meaningful — not just to our community, but to the broader American story.”
The Massapequa School District’s mascot is the chief, including a district 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 2025.
The Massapequa School District had its extension request denied by the state, one week prior to the June 30 deadline.
Court documents said the Massapequa Board of Education did pass a resolution to eliminate their use of indigenous names, mascots or logos by the end of the 2024–2025 school year.
The Massapequa School District, alongside the Wantagh, Connetquot and Wyandanch school districts, filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s policy. In March, a federal judge ruled in favor of the state’s Board of Regents and dismissed the lawsuit.
The Massapequa School District expressed disappointment, saying at the time that the outcome did not change its “commitment to protecting and preserving the identity and traditions of our community.”
Massapequa community members have publicly supported the district’s push to remain the Chiefs.
A large “Massapequa Chiefs” mural lines the building adjacent to the district’s high school.
Local residents also held a fundraising event independent from the school district in June, raising roughly $13,000.
Trump also publicly supported two professional sports teams that have changed their names in recent years.
“The Washington “Whatevers” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” he said Sunday, July 20, on Truth Social. “There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”
The Indians rebranded as the Guardians after the 2021 season and the Washington Commanders moved away from the “Redskins” moniker following the 2019 season.
