Graduate’s Display of Native American Pride Banned at Ceremony

A teen of Native American descent was prevented from displaying ethnic pride at the ceremony of her graduation from Washington’s Eisenhower High School.

Nami Owens planned to accept her diploma in a graduation cap she had adorned with colored beads that represented her Yakama heritage. But her principal, Jewel Brumley, told her this violated the school’s dress code. “My initial reaction was being upset; I started to cry,” she told the Yakima Herald. What was confusing about the ban was that there had been no guidelines prior to the event regarding what was allowed on the caps (feathers and tassels were permitted). “They really kept calling it a decoration,” Owens said. “That was really bothering me, it’s done out of symbolizing and an honor.”

The irony of it all? Brumley herself is Native American and an elder in her Tsimshian tribe. “I totally understand the culture and views,” Brumley said, though she still refused to let the 17-year-old don the cap — a move that ruined the occasion for Owens.

In the end, Brumley said Owens could walk onstage with the cap but she’d have to carry it. The school found her an unadorned hat to wear instead. Thanks to Owens, the school will also inform students better of the dress code by posting in on Facebook and sending it out through an in-school announcement.

Something similar happened at an Oklahoma high school last month. Native American graduate Liseanne Yazzie asked for permission to walk across the stage in traditional moccasins but was told the shoes went against the school district’s policy — even though her Supulpa high school uses a Native American chief in a headdress as its mascot. “My school has other Native American kids and many tribes are represented. I don’t see why they won’t support this,” Yazzie said.

Over in Sacramento, Calif., a student was escorted out of his graduation ceremony by three sheriffs for refusing to remove a kente cloth scarf he was wearing around his neck in honor of his Ghana roots. Despite the police action, he was later handed his diploma by a black security guard who supported his decision to stand his ground.

It’s little surprise that school officials would dig in their heels about these displays of ethnic and racial expression at graduation ceremonies. Students have been banned from ceremonies for other types of dress code violations, like wearing sneakers and shorts. One Louisiana teen — a star athlete and valedictorian, no less — was prevented from attending his graduation last month simply for refusing to shave his beard.

And when six high school students in Bethesda, Md., were banned from their graduation ceremony last month for drinking alcohol at their prom, it seemed reasonable. But even that decision was overturned, and the students were ultimately allowed to participate.

While there aren’t any national laws addressing dress codes, schools may not discriminate based on federally protected statuses, such as disability, gender, or race. However, it should be noted that if school officials have enough evidence to conclude that an article of clothing will lead to substantial disruption of the school environment, they have the right to interfere.

Many people feel that teens who have earned a high school diploma have also earned the right to proudly receive that diploma while respectfully honoring their ethnic roots. Owens, for one, says she feels very strongly about it. “I feel they should make changes,” she said of the Eisenhower high school’s graduation dress code. “I feel like if it’s your heritage, you should be able to represent it.”

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