Exclusive | Long Island town begs Trump to help fight states Native American logo ban: Where does it end?

The Massapequa Chiefs are calling on the commander-in-chief for help.Furious school-board members in the Long Island town are asking President Trump to help them fight to keep their district’s Native American logo after a judge recently ruled against them in their legal battle with the state.“Changing the name doesn’t have any good effect on our kids.This is their identity, this is who they are — they are Chiefs,” Massapequa School Board President Kerry Wachter told The Post, adding that the district has already issued an SOS to Trump’s Department of Education.“Perhaps the secretary of education or President Trump might feel that they might have some authority here to step in,” she said.A judge ruled in late March against Massapequa in its battle with the state Board of Regents, which issued a statewide mandate in 2023 to remove Native American names and imagery from all New York public schools.The district — whose name, along with the town’s, comes from the local Marsapeague tribe — says the move would not only kill its identity, it also would cost about $1 million in rebranding.Three fellow Long Island towns were part of the Hail Mary legal action to keep their team names: the Wantagh Warriors, the Wyandanch Warriors and the Connetquot Thunderbirds.Matt Susco, the president of the Wantagh Preservation Society who has a tattoo of a Native American head in full headdress on his left arm, was outraged over the decision.“‘Warrior’ is not a name that solely belongs to the Native Americans,” he said.Susco said he also is hoping Trump or someone in his cabinet will intervene.“He’s well-aware of Long Island,” Susco said of the president.

“He’d come in and help us.”Wachter said it was “ironic” to see US Chief District Judge Margo Brodie write in court documents that the schools “failed” to prove that their argument fell “within the scope of the First Amendment’s protection.”The school-board president also said democr...