A New Mexico high school has apologized after a video of staff confiscating a student’s feathered graduation cap before the commencement ceremony went viral.
Farmington High School senior Genesis White Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, had her graduation cap decorated with traditional Lakota ornaments, including beadwork and an aópazan, a plume of white feathers.
“That’s part of our culture: When we reach a milestone in our lives, as Lakotas we decorate, we do our beadwork and we place our feather on it,” White Bull’s mother, Brenda White Bull, told the Tri-City Record. ‘I don’t appreciate that they took her plume and her beaded hat. That’s all cultural.”
The viral video shows two staff members from the school in Farmington, New Mexico, taking White Bull’s cap as she sat before her and her fellow students’ graduation ceremony. She was handed a regular cap.
White Bull’s mother approached the staff members, who then cut the feather from the cap.
The school district initially defended the staff, stating in a May 16 post: “While the staff involved followed district guidelines, we recognize that this could have been handled differently and better. Going forward, we will work to refine our processes at the school level.”
A day later, the district apologized. “Farmington Municipal Schools and Farmington High School would like to apologize to the community, the student and her family for the events at graduation involving Native American regalia,” the district said in a news release. “It’s clear that what happened detracted from that and had the opposite effect.
“We are confident that it was not the intention of our staff to violate or offend anyone’s cultural beliefs or practices. In a community like ours, we need to have a new conversation about meaningful ways to best celebrate all of our graduates.”
The apology came after a public inquiry, including the council of the Navajo Nation condemning the school district’s action.
The first lady of the Navajo Nation said in a statement: “I am deeply disappointed that this happened at a school where we have many Navajo and Native graduates. I hope the school learns from this experience and can take corrective action.”
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called the district’s action “unacceptable,” and the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter issued a statement supporting White Bull over the seizure of her graduation cap.
