Is this the end of the Wantagh Warriors?

It’s the end of an era — or the beginning of a new one, depending on who is talking.

Last week, the state Board of Regents unanimously voted to end the use of Native Americans mascots, logos and team names. Schools must comply by the end of the 2024-25 academic year or they could be considered in willful violation of the Dignity for All Students Act and face penalties, such as the removal of school officers and the withholding of state aid.

According to the state education department, the move should not come as a surprise to any school district.

“Since Commissioner (Richard) Mills’ initial directive in 2001, the Board of Regents and department have consistently opposed the use of Native American mascots, and the time is now to move away from these harmful images,” the education department said in a statement. “School districts have had 22 years — since before their students were born — to consider the damaging implications of the use of these mascots and enact positive change. Further, the courts have agreed that such mascots only serve as a barrier to building a safe and nurturing school community for all students.”

The Board of Regents sets education policy for the state, and school districts must abide by the rules and regulations it adopts.

The ruling directly impacts Wantagh because its team name is the Warriors, and its logo depicts a profile of a Native American man. Nearby schools that are affected include the Amityville Warriors, the Massapequa Chiefs and the Sewanhaka Indians.

The Massapequa Board of Education is vehemently opposing the ruling, vowing to do everything in its power to fight the decision.

Wantagh said it wants to meet the state halfway, pledging to find a new logo but keep the Warriors’ name.

Neither Wantagh nor Massapequa districts’ efforts are likely to succeed.

According to a statement given to the Herald — as well as published reports — the Board of Regents has made it clear that schools must say good-bye to any and all imagery and terminology associated with indigenous people by the end of 2024-25.

Newsday reported that certain school districts with the team name Warriors, for example, could retain that — if there was never an attachment to Native Americans. The upstate Chenango Valley Warriors, for example, have an ancient Greek figure as their mascot, and it can remain that way.

“Our best advice to districts utilizing indigenous team names, logos and/or imagery is to treat this as an opportunity to rebrand,” the state education department said.

Most of those vehemently opposed to the state’s decision declined to speak to the Herald on the record.

But a large group of parents who are outraged with the board’s decision have made their feelings known. Much of the outrage appears to boil down to two things — that this decision would erase both Wantagh’s proud history and Native American history.

“Our country has been trying to erase the Native American from our history, and now the state is demanding our schools do the same,” Frank Libretto, a member of the Facebook group Wantagh Parental Choice, said. “Each side has their opinion. A Warrior logo and name, in my opinion, is nothing but respect to the Native American Indian, whose land, culture, identity and now history was stolen from them.”

Others have suggested that in addition to erasing history, this comes down to an issue of local governance and constitutional rights.

“This fight over the Warrior logo is just another example of government overreach, and it could very well be a violation of free speech,” Marilynne Rich, also a member of the Facebook group, said. “First masks, now mascots and words — what’s next? We need to limit the power of unelected agencies that are usurping local control.”

However, the Shinnecock Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, headquartered out east, has put out statements expressing support for the board’s decision.

“It is highly insulting for humans of any race or creed, their cultural, spiritual, or religious items or traditional ways to be used for mascots, logos, sayings, etc,” Josephine Smith, director of the Shinnecock Nation’s cultural resources department, said. “The use of stereotype costumes, names and cartoonish imagery dehumanize native people and our traditions.

“Mascots of a people or culture is not an honoring,” she added. “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.”

Additional reporting by Ana Borruto