Psychologist, native activist weigh-in on mascot change process

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- School districts across New York State continue the process of changing their mascot and team names to align with the Board of Education's mandate to stop using Native American names and logos.

Tuesday night, the Niskayuna Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to start the team name change process. While the district doesn’t currently use indigenous imagery, they will change their monikers from the current "Silver Warriors" and "Mohawks."

"When you use mascot names that group people together, even if people don't mean to be discriminatory, it fosters that," said Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Rudy Nydegger.

The American Psychological Association has taken the stance that using Native American symbols and nicknames is not only offensive to the groups they are stereotyping, but also undermines the educational experiences of communities who have little to no contact with indigenous peoples.

"It very quickly becomes 'us' and 'them,' and then it becomes very easy for some people--not everybody, certainly--but for some people to imply negative connotations to the labels," Dr. Nydegger explained.

Mohonasen Superintendent Shannon Shine told NEWS10 he hoped the district would at least be able to keep the "Warriors" moniker, as a more general team name not associated with Native Americans.

John Kane, Native activist and NYSED Indigenous Mascot Advisory Council member said the name alone is enough to constitute change.

"We basically made it clear that if your school has a native mascot or uses a word or a name that has ever been associated with native imagery or native reference, it's got to go," Kane said.

Kane also feels districts should not complain about time or money to meet the 2025 deadline to stop using Native American mascots. He points to a recommendation made by former New York State Commissioner of Education Richard Mills to stop using the mascots back in 2001.

"I think it's really hard for anybody to really give sympathy to these schools who went and spent additional money on these mascot images, when they were told 20 years ago to change it," Kane said.

Wednesday night, the Mechanicville City School District will have a meeting to vote on a resolution to comply with the state's mandate. Their mascot is currently the "Red Raiders."