LIBERTY- The Liberty Central School District is one of several area schools that was forced to change their school mascot following a rule change prohibiting the use of Indigenous team names, mascots, and logos by public schools.
The ban by the Board of Regents was unanimously approved in April 2023. Schools must scrub all Indigenous references by June 2025 or face sanctioning from the education department.
Last week, officials at the Liberty School District revealed their new Redhawks mascot logos. For the past 75 years, Liberty’s mascot was the “Indians” and their logo was an “L” inside of a shield featuring three feathers, but state regulation forced the district’s hand to change.
Liberty isn’t the only school district in the region impacted. According to state guidance, any district that uses names such as the Warriors, Chiefs, Indians, Raiders, or Braves would have to make a similar change. Many school districts in the Hudson Valley and Catskills feature mascots and logos with references to Indigenous tribes.
