By Nitya Wanchoo
The Manhasset mascot has been the “Indians” for nearly the last century. Now, in the wake of political awareness, many are pushing for a change in Manhasset.
The history of the Indian mascot is rooted in the Matinecock Indian tribe, which used to occupy most of the North Hempstead region. They were forcibly removed from the land, but the Indian name made a footing in this town, where it has remained the mascot ever since.
This name has been worn with pride throughout town, with residents often sporting Manhasset gear with the orange “M” logo, which has a feather attached, indicating Indians in support of the celebrated school district. Even the Manhasset High School’s newspaper is called “Indian Ink.” Many students have attempted to lobby for change while more conservative residents are steadfast in their goal of keeping the Indian mascot as a timeless show of town spirit.
Rising junior Bernadette Holms offers her two cents, “My opinion of the Manhasset current mascot is that it is extremely racist and offensive. It’s a caricature of indigenous people and it needs to be changed.” She concedes that it is part of Manhasset’s history, but she contends that doesn’t make it any less offensive to Native Americans today.
The reasons for change are the same ones under discussion on the national level, as seen with sports teams like the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Redskins. People argue that mascots are traditionally animals and to use a minority group of people that have been forced off their land time and time again is blatantly racist.
To counter that, however, many others claim that an Indian mascot honors the culture of those who lived here before Manhasset residents.
The Manhasset Secondary School, in particular, is the target of pressure to change the town mascot in an effort to shy away from the Indian name. Options such as a school districtwide vote for a change have been brought up and discussed, only to be ultimately shut down.
In the meanwhile, many are hoping for the addition of an indigenous peoples’ unit to the Social Studies curriculum, especially in the elementary schools, so that children are aware of the history of Manhasset.
The mascot debate has been on everyone’s radar since 2020, when a change.org petition was started in the midst of the pandemic. From there, an organization called the Manhasset Justice Initiative spearheaded efforts to persuade the Board of Education to remove the Indian mascot. Since then, it’s been discussed by countless people, including the Manhasset Board of Education, but the town has yet to see an actual change. The process would include a committee and a timeline, according to former district Superintendent Vincent Butera, neither of which have been put in place.
Many claim that following legislative acts, the switch to a different mascot should have occurred by now. The American Psychological Association had recommended the retiring of mascots depicting Native Americans back in 2005. During the same year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association had adopted a policy forbidding colleges and universities from displaying “hostile and abusive racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery at any of the 88 NCAA championships.” Due to that, the Syracuse Saltine Warriors changed to the Orangemen and the St. John’s University Red Men became the Red Storm, among others.
When the Board of Education held a zoom meeting, there was overwhelming support for a change. Of the 29 community speakers at one meeting, only five were against changing the mascot. Manhasset alumni, current students, and parents were among those who decided to take part. Ethnic Indians in the Manhasset community also voiced their support for a different mascot.
As far as student support is concerned, at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, 35 Manhasset High School seniors co-signed a letter which indicated their support for keeping the Manhasset mascot as the Indians and called for an annual school day reserved for Indian tribal members to come in and educate the community.
“We propose an Indian Appreciation Day in Manhasset, where community members are invited to educate and immerse themselves in Indian culture at Mary Jane Davies Park,” the letter said.
Tribal members don’t seem to agree with that, however. Sadanyah FlowingWater of the Montaukett tribe and Jeremy Dennis of the Shinnecock Indian Nation both formally asked the school to change the mascot. Along the same lines, representatives from the Montaukett, Shinnecock, Ungechauk, and Matinecock nations urged the district to change the mascot at a different Board of Education meeting. Although their efforts did not sway the minds of many, Helen Sells of the Setalcott Nation considered the meeting an opportunity to “educate” the general public on the matter.
The mascot will certainly continue to be an ongoing controversy in the Manhasset community since people are still generally divided on the issue.
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