State Senator Steve Rhoads believes Warriors should keep their name — because it actually honors Native American history

The state’s decision to ban school logos and mascots depicting Native Americans has caused a fierce debate in Wantagh — one of the districts that would be forced to abandon its longtime Warriors name. It is an “arbitrary” ruling, as State Sen. Steve Rhoads describes it, that Rhoads refuses to accept.

In a recent letter to Betty Rosa, commissioner of the State Education Department, Rhoads requested a meeting to discuss reversing the state’s demands, arguing that indigenous tribes are a crucial part of Wantagh’s history.

“Here on Long Island, where much of the land was originally occupied by indigenous tribes, which continue to be an important part of our history and legacy, the heavy-handed and arbitrary universal application of this regulation results in the devaluing of that history,” Rhoads wrote. “It is unimaginable to me that a department of state government charged with the responsibility of teaching our young would not only allow, but mandate, that team names, logos, and mascots reflecting and paying tribute to that history be ‘cancelled.’”

Rhoads, who grew up in Wantagh, pointed to the community’s history — and noted that Wantagh was actually a person, who was sachem, or chief, of the Merikoke Tribe, which inhabited present-day Wantagh. Chief Wantagh played an important role in settling disputes resulting from the 1643 purchase of the lands that eventually comprised the Town of Hempstead, according to historians.

“What your department fails to consider is why that name was chosen,” Rhoads wrote to Rosa, referring to the Wantagh Warriors. “Wantagh is not simply the name of a community.”

The Board of Regents unanimously voted on April 18 to end the use of Native American mascots in schools, impacting 11 Long Island school districts, including Wantagh. The Board of Education of each district must commit to removing its mascot by the end of the 2024-25 school year, officials said. Districts who fail to do so could be considered in willful violation of the state’s Dignity For All Students Act and face penalties, including the removal of school officers and the withholding of state aid.

Some residents have expressed support for the state’s decision, saying that it’s time to move on from these logos and be more sensitive to the history of Native Americans. The Shinnecock Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe in Suffolk County, also expressed support for the decision.

“Mascots of a people or culture is not an honoring,” Josephine Smith, director of the Shinnecock Nation’s Cultural Resources Department, said. “Indigenous people are not things to bring good luck, are not fictional characters, are not to be used to represent your town, school, sport team, organization or business. We are a living people with living, evolving traditions. We are not your mascots.”

Thus far, the Wantagh district has pledged to cooperate with the Board of Regents and get rid of its logo — a profile of a Native American man — but has stated that it wishes to keep the Warrior name for its sports teams.

“The district would like to retain the nickname and effectively rebrand it,” the district states on its website. “We fully understand the removal of other names that fall within the regulations’ definition and include actual or stereotypical aspects of Indigenous cultures. However, Warrior does not fit into that category.”

Those in favor of keeping both the name and logo have consistently argued that replacing them would be like erasing a part of Native American history.

Rhoads pointed out that the local area originally known as Jerusalem was renamed Wantagh to honor the chief, and the Warrior name and logo are a reminder of that history.

“The choice of the Wantagh Warriors’ name, logo and mascot is clearly appropriate and consistent with this community’s ongoing effort to honor its history and pay tribute to the tribal leader whose contributions made the peaceful development of this area possible,” the senator added.

In his letter to Rosa, Rhoads implored the education department to reconsider the decision as it pertains to Wantagh, and stressed the need to create a mechanism for in-depth, individual evaluation of Native American mascots and logos.

The Board of Regents has stated that every case will be evaluated individually, but that any name associated with Native Americans would likely have to be changed. Other teams with such names, like the upstate Chenango Valley Warriors, won’t have to change, because the team name was never associated with Native Americans.

Rhoads’s full letter, which also includes historical photos and documents involving Chief Wantagh, can be viewed at tinyurl.com/RhoadsLetter.