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An upstate New York school may keep its Native American logo and ‘Warriors’ nickname—because the local Seneca tribe is proud of it
fortune.com ^ | April 30, 2023 | CAROLYN THOMPSON

Posted on 05/01/2023 8:56:14 AM PDT by lowbridge

The profile of a Native American man, a braid trailing down and feather jutting up, is tiled into a high school hallway, dyed into the weight room carpet and laid into the turf of the football field at Salamanca city schools.

School leaders say the omnipresent logo and “Warrior” name for the school athletic teams are sources of pride here, in the only U.S. city built on land leased from a Native American reservation.

But as New York joins states moving to ban schools’ use of Indigenous nicknames and mascots because they diminish Native cultures, the tribe may have the last say over whether the logo stays. When the state Board of Regents this month voted to prohibit public schools’ use of Indigenous names, it included an exception for districts that receive written approval from a federally recognized tribal nation in New York.

It has put the tribe in an awkward spot.

While the Seneca Indian Nation’s leader has endorsed the ban, some citizens of the nation want to keep the logo, which was designed by a Seneca artist in the 1970s. About 38% of students in the public school system south of Buffalo, near the Pennsylvania line, are Native American, mostly citizens of the Seneca tribe.

“The logo really represents us as a community,” said Marijah Skye, a 17-year-old student and Seneca citizen.

Superintendent Mark Beehler said he thinks it’s unfair of the Regents to put any tribal nation in the middle, where its decision could upset students and the community.

“I’m really not comfortable going to the Seneca Nation and having them potentially be the bad guy here,” Beehler said in an interview.

On Tuesday, the school board authorized seeking approval from the Seneca Nation to keep the logo and Warrior nickname.

(Excerpt) Read more at fortune.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: education; markbeehler; mascot; newyork; seneca; senecanation; sports; warriors; woke
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1 posted on 05/01/2023 8:56:14 AM PDT by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge

What about the Turnbull AC’s?


2 posted on 05/01/2023 8:58:41 AM PDT by hercuroc
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To: lowbridge

There was a huge campaign to promote the Indians of NYS in the 1930’s/1940’s and all these Mascots etc etc were part of it.


3 posted on 05/01/2023 8:59:46 AM PDT by Sacajaweau ( )
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To: hercuroc

4 posted on 05/01/2023 9:00:19 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

Lol...you see what you get Warriors!
You see what you get when you mess with the Orphans!


5 posted on 05/01/2023 9:01:58 AM PDT by hercuroc
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To: lowbridge

The Senecas also run several casinos in Western NY, and had been battling with NY State for decades over division of the profits from slot machines. Imagine the interest alone on 20 years of withheld payments. The Seneca’s finally paid $565 million last year after NY Governor froze their bank accounts.

What was once mafia business is now Indian/Government business.


6 posted on 05/01/2023 9:03:34 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: lowbridge

7 posted on 05/01/2023 9:08:46 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
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To: lowbridge
"The profile of a Native American man, a braid trailing down and feather jutting up, is tiled into a high school hallway, dyed into the weight room carpet and laid into the turf of the football field at Salamanca city schools."

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

"So, lemme get this straight. You want to do WHAT???"

8 posted on 05/01/2023 9:13:33 AM PDT by Eccl 10:2 (Prov 3:5 --- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding")
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To: PGR88
What was once mafia business is now Indian/Government business.

Meet the new boss...

9 posted on 05/01/2023 9:15:14 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: lowbridge

Tell it to those dumb bastard owners of the Indians and Redskins.


10 posted on 05/01/2023 9:18:24 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: lowbridge

My husband is a member of the Seneca Nation, and he is incensed that Indian names are being removed from places like this school.


11 posted on 05/01/2023 9:26:04 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing)Xvg)
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To: lowbridge
Warrior is term of honor and respect in Indian culture and is recognized as properly applied in sports. One of the great college football upsets was in 1912 when a Carlisle Indians team that included Jim Thorpe and was coached by Pop Warner beat Army at West Point.

Before the game, Warner spoke to his team: "Your fathers and your grandfathers are the ones who fought their fathers. These men playing against you today are soldiers. They are the Long Knives. You are Indians. Tonight, we will know if you are warriors." The Carlisle Indians then beat Army 27-6.

12 posted on 05/01/2023 9:31:38 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Flaming Conservative
It reduces visibility for his community by removing related names and symbols that had become part of American culture.

It’s almost like removing Aunt Jemima even though actual former slave Nancy Green embodied the character as brand ambassador proudly traveling nationwide for years. She’s been canceled.

Attempts by progressives to “move on” are attempts to erase history, culture and visibility. It’s about control.

13 posted on 05/01/2023 9:37:13 AM PDT by newzjunkey (We need a better Trump than Trump in 2024)
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To: lowbridge

What leftists are doing is cancelling American Indians the same as Robert E Lee and others. They want them removed from public display, verbally and visually.


14 posted on 05/01/2023 9:37:23 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: Rockingham

The lived experience of peoples at any time matters less to the Left than their modern sensitivities and how they can assert control over the culture, our thoughts and how we see ourselves. They sow fear, uncertainty and doubt for power and profits.


15 posted on 05/01/2023 9:43:56 AM PDT by newzjunkey (We need a better Trump than Trump in 2024)
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To: DJ MacWoW

Progressivism is fascism


16 posted on 05/01/2023 9:45:01 AM PDT by newzjunkey (We need a better Trump than Trump in 2024)
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To: lowbridge

Liberals: “Seneca Indians simply do not understand how offensive such names are. Call it stupidity or whatever, but they desperately need us liberals to show them how oppressed they are and why they should be resentful of names like the Warriors.”


17 posted on 05/01/2023 9:49:33 AM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: lowbridge

bttt


18 posted on 05/01/2023 9:49:58 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: lowbridge

Many municipalities in upstate NY and on Long Island are named after Native American tribes. And there are many high schools located in these municipalities whose athletic teams are called the “Indians,” for the obvious reason that they are located in a municipality that is named after a Native American tribe. In all fairness, NYS should requires these municipalities to change their names also.


19 posted on 05/01/2023 10:03:48 AM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: newzjunkey

Yup. The Left is always about control and power for themselves.


20 posted on 05/01/2023 10:06:22 AM PDT by Rockingham
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