07/18/2026
‼️ Update on Massapequa and NAGA lawsuit ‼️
𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
Native American Guardian's Association (NAGA), et al. v. New York State Board of Regents, et al. (Case No. 2:25-cv-03008, E.D.N.Y.) was filed May 29, 2025, by NAGA and co-plaintiff David Finkenbinder, an enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. It challenges "Part 123" — a 2023 New York State Education Department/Board of Regents regulation (8 NYCRR § 123) that bans public schools from using Indigenous names, logos, or mascots except for classroom instruction, and threatens loss of state funding for noncompliance.
𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
The dispute centers on the Massapequa Union Free School District's "Chiefs" mascot. Massapequa entered a contract with NAGA to keep the name, then joined NAGA in suing to block Part 123.
𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬
Plaintiffs argued Part 123:
• Violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by creating a race-based classification (banning only Native imagery while permitting other ethnic-derived team names like "Vikings," "Patriots," "Yankees")
• Violates the First Amendment by suppressing speech based on content
• Violates the New York State Constitution
They sought a declaratory judgment annulling Part 123, an injunction against its enforcement, and a preliminary injunction.
𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠
On November 14, 2025, U.S. District Judge Sanket J. Bulsara dismissed the case for lack of standing (and Eleventh Amendment immunity for state defendants), without reaching the constitutional merits (NARF, Native News Online). The judge found NAGA had no ownership or trademark rights to the "Chiefs" mascot, making its contract with Massapequa "illusory" — Massapequa never needed NAGA's permission to use the name in the first place. However, the judge noted Part 123 "appears to enact a legal classification on race/ancestry" subject to strict scrutiny, and might also implicate First Amendment rights — but said those issues weren't reached due to the standing defect (Native News Online; Fox News).
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞
NAGA appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and has publicly stated it intends to pursue the case to the U.S. Supreme Court (New York Post, Fox News). Separately, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, responding to a NAGA complaint, found in a related investigation that New York's ban violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and in January 2026 pressed the Connetquot Central School District to restore its "Thunderbirds" mascot.
𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬
NAGA and Massapequa filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit following Judge Sanket Bulsara's November 14, 2025, dismissal of the case for lack of standing (New York Post; Fox News).
Key developments since the dismissal:
• 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: Rather than going straight to appeal, Massapequa first tried to get the district court judgment altered in light of the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI investigation findings against Connetquot Central School District. That motion was litigated through February 2026 — New York's Board of Regents opposed it (Feb. 10, 2026), and the court denied it, ruling the district's Title VI claims were "meritless" and showed no new evidence that would change the outcome (Feb. 25, 2026).
• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Only after that denial did the case move to the Second Circuit. Community reporting from Massapequa notes the appeal is now filed, but stresses that the Second Circuit's review is limited to reviewing whether the district court was correct in its standing/capacity ruling — it cannot rule on the underlying constitutional merits (equal protection, First Amendment).
• 𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐀'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥: NAGA's attorney, Chap Petersen, has publicly framed the Second Circuit appeal as merely a procedural stepping stone, saying "no decision in this case will hold significance until we reach the U.S. Supreme Court" and that they view an eventual Second Circuit ruling as clearing the path for a Supreme Court petition.
