Exclusive | Massapequa tries to turn tables on House member pushing to ban Native American-themed logos
A Long Island school aggressively fighting to keep its “Chiefs” team name and mascot is trying to turn the tables on a congressman who wants to ban Native American-themed logos nationwide.
The Massapequa school board ripped Rep. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) for introducing a resolution “pushing back on the Trump administration’s recent efforts” to keep the Chiefs and other team names — and drafted its own counter legislation it hopes it will make to the Capitol.
School board president Kerry Wachter told The Post that the district “will continue fighting for the Chiefs and for the preservation of our Native American history” with the proposed legislation.
Wachter and colleagues sent their proposed bill to local Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R). The draft bill is backed by the conservative Native American Guardians Association, a group readying for a Supreme Court fight on the issue.
“This resolution protects our town’s identity and spares taxpayers roughly $1 million that would otherwise be spent removing the Chiefs name and logo district-wide,” added Wachter, who is eyeing a run for state Senate.
Garbarino didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The board’s counter-resolution pushes that “protection of Native expression is consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
It argues that “many schools, universities, and athletic organizations have adopted Native-themed names or symbols to honor courage, leadership, and historical legacy.”
Wachter and the board’s proposal also seeks to give “Native American nations, groups, and individuals — and not the federal government or state governments” — more autonomy over how imagery is used.
Massapequa has become a battleground district since New York State in 2023 announced a ban on Native American names and logos in public schools. The district called on President Trump tto step in and help last Spring.
“I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School,” Trump responded on Truth Social.
In early 2025, the president ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to investigate the issue affecting several school districts on Long Island and elsewhere.
McMahon visited Massapequa High School in May and blasted the state for hypocrisy because its ban only focused on Native American-themed teams.
“You’ve got the Huguenots, we’ve got the Highlanders, we’ve got the Scotsmen,” she said inside Massapequa’s gym, surrounded by students and members of NAGA. “Why is that not considered in any way racist?”
The federal government later determined that forcing schools to change logos solely based on Indigenous affiliation was a civil rights violation because it discriminated against a single ethnic group.
Long Island’s Connetquot district, which took a state compromise to shorten its name from Thunderbirds to the already-in-use slogan “T-Birds,” was found in violation of federal guidance by McMahon in January.
Pallone, the New Jersey Congress member, said his resolution came in response the federal action.
“It’s absurd to see the Trump administration twist civil rights law to defend offensive imagery instead of protecting the students those laws were meant to serve,” said Pallone, who represents the Jersey Shore and areas west of Staten Island.
But Massapequa attorney Oliver Roberts called Pallone’s resolution “unconstitutional and ultimately harmful to Native American culture.”
“The Massapequa resolution corrects these constitutional defects and misguided policies by protecting local authority, respecting Native history, and ensuring decisions are made lawfully and responsibly.”
