Bohemia, New York– A New York school district is “erase[ing]its Native American heritage” and violating civil rights law by changing the name of its team From “Thunderbirds” to “T-Birds”.“Federal education officials say.
The Connetquot Central School District can voluntarily resolve a violation of federal law by restoring the Thunderbirds’ “legitimate” name, the U.S. Department of Education said Thursday.
The Long Island area, like others in the state, changed its team name in order to comply with state regulations prohibiting Native American sports names and mascots.
But federal education officials say the state mandate violates civil rights law because it allows schools to continue using names derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as “Dutch” and “Huguenot.”
“We will not allow ideologues to decide that some mascots based on national origin are acceptable while others are banned,” said Kimberly Ritchie, who heads the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. “The Trump administration will not relent in ensuring that every community is treated equally under the law.”
The school district said it was reviewing the federal findings, but state education officials sharply criticized it, saying the conclusion “makes a mockery” of the nation’s civil rights laws.
“USDOE has provided no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing the team name from the Thunderbirds to the T-birds,” J.B. O’Hare, a spokesman for the agency, said in a statement Friday. “NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated and degrading images of Indigenous people.”
The state Department of Education and the school district reached an agreement last year allowing Connetquot to use the “T-Birds” name and related imagery such as an eagle, thunderbolt or lightning bolt, in exchange for dropping its legal challenge to the state’s Native American mascot ban.
The Thunderbird is a mythical creature often depicted as a powerful spirit and benevolent protector in many Indigenous traditions, Native American advocates say.