Shinnecock Nation On School Mascot Ban: 'A History of Injustice'

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Members of the Shinnecock Nation spoke out on the news that the state Board of Regents reportedly voted to unanimously ban schools from using Native American mascots, team names and logos on Tuesday.

For members of the Shinnecock Nation, the decision is an important step in healing wounds that have run deep for generations.

Lance Gumbs, tribal ambassador /vice president for the National Congress of American Indian for the Northeast Region, said he is actively working on the changes with several school districts.

In 2019, Gumbs, at a community discussion in Bridgehampton, spoke passionately about how the term mascot has symbolized racism in the United States for years.

"One of the biggest issues we are facing is the mascot issue," he said. "Everyone thinks it's a joke."

The Washington Redskins football team, in 2022, officially changed their name to the Washington Commanders, after an outcry from indigenous people about the word they deemed a slur, that cut deeply and hurt generations past and present, including children.

"Some people have no idea what that word 'redskins' means to us as Indian people," Gumbs said in 2019. "In the 1700s, in areas of New England and across the northern United States, people put up posters that read, '50 shillings for the red skin of an Indian male. 25 shillings for the red skin of an Indian woman. 15 shillings for the red skin of an Indian child.' For us, it is extremely offensive. How would everyone like it if we had the Kansas City k----? The San Francisco ch----? Or the Atlanta nig----? There would be such an outcry in this country about that."

But for years, Gumbs said, "A word that is so offensive to our people was so completely ignored. We are not mascots. But because we are the forgotten people, it did not matter."

The slurs are not just harmful to older generations, but to children, he said. "The hurtful things that are said to us are unbelievable."

Gumbs even said as a student in Southampton High School, three white boys tried to cut his long hair, in a braid with scissors, but he was the one reprimanded. "No one understands the plight — it's real for us."

That's why this week, Gumbs said he was pleased with the decision and is happy to work with school districts to create real and meaningful change for future generations.

Tela Troge, Shinnecock Nation attorney, also applauded the news: "I am proud of the New York State Regents for requiring that schools throughout the state retire their Native American inspired sports team names, logos and mascots," she said. "The modern generation of students have learned a truer history of historical injustice against Native Americans than previous generations. A lot of that transfer of knowledge was due to curriculum developed in consultation with the Native Nations of New York State and the New York State Board of Regents. It will be exciting to see the new mascots that respect the dignity and diversity of the students, home and away, who share educational space to pursue their bright futures."

Not everyone embraced the decision. One of the schools on Long Island the decision directly impacts is Massapequa, with its nickname the "Chiefs." The school's Board of Education and Superintendent William Brennan are taking a hardline against the state.

"We have heard from many members of our community upset by this decision, and we stand beside you," they wrote in a letter posted on the website. "We are Massapequa and we will not sit idly by while an unelected group of officials tries to remove our history. We are in the process of reviewing the decision and investigating all options with legal counsel."

As Patch previously reported, the New York Board of Regents had been expected to adopt a regulation fortifying the state Education Department's 22-year-old rule about school mascots, nicknames and imagery based on indigenous people. In 2001, then-Commissioner of Education Richard Mills said the use of Native American symbols or depictions as mascots could become a barrier to building a safe and nurturing school community and improving academic achievement for all students — and recommended districts change as soon as possible.

With reporting by Daniel Hampton and Jerry Barmash.