Farmington High School graduate told to remove Native American beaded graduation cap
FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) – Outrage is brewing on social media after a Farmington High School graduate was told to remove her cap adorned with Native American beading and a feather. Video surfaced online showing a school staffer telling the teen to take off her cap, remove the tassel, and put on a plain cap. It happened at the school’s commencement ceremony on Monday.
“They don’t have that right to tell me or my daughter how to dress, how to adorn ourselves,” said Brenda White Bull, the mother of the student whose cap was taken away. “All that was put into that beadwork. Everything that symbolizes, all of that was done with prayer by my family to give to her.”
She said a plume was also partially cut when being removed. “That plume has a spirit and they wounded our young warrior,” said White Bull.
In a statement, the school said in part that district protocol states the gowns and caps cannot be altered and that students were told about the dress code throughout the year. It also noted students are welcome to wear traditional attire under the gown and cap. Still, the district acknowledges it could’ve been handled better.
But White Bull said the law supersedes the intent was really to protect and make sure something like this didn’t happen school policy and that in taking the cap away, the staffers violated New Mexico law which is similar to the federal CROWN Act but also includes headdresses. Senator Harold Pope sponsored that legislation and called this incident disappointing.
“The intent was really to protect and make sure something like this didn’t happen,” said Sen. Pope. “I understand there’s rules, there’s things that happen at schools but we also have New Mexico law and we want to protect folks from being discriminated, from being harmed on their cultural and religious beliefs.”
White Bull questions why other students who had decorated caps, a choice she also supports and could have their own cultural significance, didn’t have their caps taken away too. “I just don’t understand why they chose my daughter to discriminate against. It made it rightfully so because she was Native American because she had beadwork that was cultural,” said White Bull.
The Farmington Municipal School sent a statement on Thursday:
We would like to address some of the community concerns we have received regarding the graduation ceremony on Monday night at Farmington High School. During the event, a student’s beaded cap was exchanged for a plain one. The feather was returned intact to the family during the ceremony. The beaded cap was returned after graduation concluded.
District protocol states that the cap and gown must be worn, and their appearance may not be altered, which can be found in the 2023-2024 Student and Parent Handbook. Students were informed throughout the school year and immediately before graduation of the protocol, including that beaded caps were not allowed. This standard process helps us set student attire during graduations. However, students are welcome to wear clothes of their choice, including traditional attire, under the graduation cap and gown, and regalia, stoles, and feathers in their tassels.
While the staff involved were following district guidelines, we acknowledge this could have been handled differently and better. Moving forward, we will work to refine our processes at the school level. The district is also committed to exploring the addition of a district policy that allows for additional appropriate cultural elements in student attire, including graduation caps and gowns.
We are proud of all of our graduates and deeply value their different cultural backgrounds which enhance the educational experience for all of our students. Thank you for your understanding and support as we continue to work to honor both culture and individual expression in all our schools.
Roberto Taboada, Public Information Officer, Farmington Municipal Schools
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent the following statement on the incident:
“In New Mexico, we are proud of and committed to our diversity, and what happened at the Farmington High School graduation ceremony does not reflect that commitment. It is unacceptable that a student was reprimanded for representing their culture during a time of celebration.
I appreciate that the Farmington schools acknowledge that they could have handled this situation better and that their policy may be too restrictive. However, it shouldn’t have required the student raising this issue for a school to recognize its lack of inclusivity,”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
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