This cropped image from Twitter shows the Derby High School nickname and logo.
DERBY — The school superintendent and the mayor’s office submitted paperwork to the state last week showing they have the approval of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation to keep using Native American nicknames and imagery in city schools.
The move comes after a law last June saying municipalities with such mascots or names could lose a specific grant money without the intervention of a Native American tribe.
“We worked closely with the Schaghticoke Tribe to ensure that the manner in which we continue to use our mascot and sports names is consistent with honoring Native American heritage, tradition, and history,” said Jim Gildea, the chairman of the Derby Board of Education.
BACKGROUND
All 169 communities in Connecticut receive money from the state’s Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund. That money originates from the two Native American-owned casinos in Connecticut.
In 2021 the state passed a law saying no municipality would receive money from the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund if a school or team within the municipality used Native American names, nicknames, imagery or symbols.
The new requirement was added to a much larger bill without much advance notice, according to this report from The CT Mirror.
A STATE AND NATIONAL TREND
There has been a push in Connecticut and across the country to drop the use of Native American names and imagery in team sports.
Montville recently voted to drop its nickname.
Glastonbury, Guilford, and West Hartford have also made changes, according to this report.
The state’s Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities issued a statement in June calling for the end of Native American names and mascots in the state, according to this report from NBC Connecticut. The head of the commission was quoted as calling the practices a “racist appropriation.”
Groups such as National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) said the use promotes stereotypes that Native Americans were (or are) violent and aggressive.
NCAI has been speaking out on the nickname/mascot issue since 1968, saying the practice has “no place in American society” because it is stereotypical, dehumanizing, and harms Native people, especially young people.
Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fiscal Year 2023 Certification DHS by The Valley Indy on Scribd
DERBY RECEIVES TRIBAL SUPPORT
The NCAI sent The Valley Indy a statement Thursday that the “NCAI supports the retirement of Native “themed” mascots at all levels, absent a formal agreement with a sovereign Tribal Nation.”
In Derby’s case, the city has a resolution of support issued by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which a spokesperson for NCAI said satisfies that group’s statement regarding a “formal agreement.”
Derby High School and Derby Middle School use the nickname “Red Raiders,” along with the use of an arrowhead and a Native American man.
The nickname and the imagery are Native American, according to paperwork submitted to the state by the city and the school district.
Derby stood to lose about $207,000 per year from the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund.
However, the 2021 state law allows communities to keep using Native-American names and imagery if the municipality gets permission from a state or federally recognized tribe.
CERTIFICATION FORMS
Last week Derby submitted two certification forms requesting that Derby High School and Derby Middle School be allowed to keep using the name and imagery.
The certification form for Derby High School is embedded above.
Mayor Rich Dziekan and Derby Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway also submitted a resolution (embedded below) from the Tribal Council of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation dated March 15 endorsing the use of Native American names and imagery “provided the use of such image, symbol or name is done so in a respectful manner with regard to Native Americans or the Schaghticoke People.”
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has been a recognized tribe in Connecticut for more than three centuries. They have an office in Derby and a 400-acre reservation next to Kent. The tribe received federal recognition in 2004, only to have the decision reserved a year later.
Tribal Council Resolution by The Valley Indy on Scribd
The resolution from the tribal council does not mention Derby specifically, but notes “certain municipalities, school districts, elected officials and other students or citizens have contacted the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation concerning the use of images representative of Native Americans or with respect to the use of the Tribe’s name.”
The resolution from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation cites examples of “respectful use” to include “signage on walls, school cheers or other acts that recognize the history and culture of Native Americans …”
The resolution specifically states that putting an image or name of Native people on a gym floor is prohibited.
REACTION
During a meeting of the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation on Tuesday, Derby Schools Superintendent Conway said the documents have been submitted to the state.
“I believe at this point we have satisfied the language of the statute,” Conway said.
According to the mayor’s office, Dziekan reached out to the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation for permission to keep using the mascot and imagery.
“Derby is big on tradition and has taken pride in the designation of our sporting teams as the “Red Raiders,” Mayor Dziekan said in a prepared statement. “It was always intended to honor Native Americans and we believe the many accomplishments, including numerous state championships our “Red Raider” athletics teams have accomplished, have done exactly that.”
Municipalities had until March 15 to submit paperwork to the state regarding the new rules regarding the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund.
The state is still digging through submissions, but as of March 24 Derby is one of three municipalities that has submitted the required paperwork in order to keep receiving money from the fund.
The other two, according to OPM:
* New Milford – Schaghticoke Middle School has submitted paperwork with the same consent certification from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation.
* Montville – with Mohegan tribe certification for Mohegan Middle School
The Valley Indy reached out through email Thursday to the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, the Mohegan Tribe, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation for comment but did not hear back by 8:30 p.m.
