TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Board of Regents voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban Native American mascots, team names and logos in public school districts. In Western New York, this ban will impact districts including Salamanca, Iroquiois, Tonawanda and Cheektowaga.
Tonawanda City Schools Superintendent Dr. Timothy Oldenburg is now preparing for his district to change its logo.
"We're committed to following those regulations, those changes," Dr. Oldenburg said.
He said this change will be costly, with no additional support from the state.
"We're a district that's going to comply and we're going to do very good work working with our stakeholders, our community, and again, most importantly our students in determining what our next steps are," he added.
If changes aren't made by the end of the 2024-2025 school year districts could be ineligible for state aid. Iroquois Central School District Superintendent Douglas Scofield is also preparing for changes.
"We will have to, because of New York State, change our chief and Native American male figurehead that we've been using since the inception of the district," Scofield said.
Scofield said the school's mascot, when it was created, was done out of a sign of respect.
"Because it's been respectful, and we want to be respectful, if this is the direction for respect to change we should honor that and move forward with it," Scofield added.
He said students will be involved in the decision-making process for the school's mascot, but said the state will allow the district to keep its name.
"And then we're going to move forward with a bright new future that will be inclusive of everybody," Scofield said.
John Kane, Native activist, radio host and member of the New York State Education Department's Indigenous Mascot Advisory Board, said these changes are long overdue.
"I hope the student bodies of these schools are educated as to why this is necessary," Kane said.
He said the logos and mascots are cultural appropriations.
"We're saying we're just taking our identity back. We're reclaiming it because what you've done was misappropriate it," Kane said.
