A hearing is set for next week in the case of a Lakota teen denied the right to wear traditional dress to his high school graduation.
As Kayla Gahagan of the Rapid City, S.D., Journal writes here, Aloysius Dreaming Bear wants to wear a beaded ribbon shirt with an eagle fan and medicine bag when he graduates May 22 from Oelrichs High School. But the school board voted 23-3 against that.
His attorney, Jim Leach, filed a complaint in federal court yesterday, saying of the Lakota that “this is a culture we found here and it’s an attempt by a young man to make a statement of respect for his culture and his heritage and himself.”
Gahagan writes:
Board members said he could wear the clothing under the cap and gown and after receiving the diploma, remove the cap and gown to show the traditional clothing for the remainder on commencement.
In his affidavit, Dreaming Bear said he was bringing the case not only on his behalf, but so future students across the state will have the opportunity to wear traditional clothing at graduation ceremonies if they want.
When Dreaming Bear pointed out that he could have worn the clothing if he was attending Red Cloud Indian School or Pine Ridge High School, the school superintendent replied he could have attended those schools if he wished, and that students sign a handbook specifying commencement guidelines.
But Leach countered that “I don’t think anybody can be required to give up their First Amendment rights in exchange for attending public school.” And, he added that “the courts have drawn the line at genuine expressions of belief,” he said.
In a letter to the board, Dreaming Bear wrote: “how can I be a honorable Lakota warrior by wearing a white man’s gown, and not my tribe’s regalia?”
The district already pay tribute to its Native graduates during commencement, allowing them to wear eagle feathers and plumes, and have star quilts in their seats, and including a drummer, a Lakota prayer and an honoring ceremony.
Stay tuned.
Gwen Florio
Tags: buffalo post, Gwen Florio, Lakota, Native American culture and tradition, Native American news, Oelrichs High School, Pine Ridge High School, Red Cloud Indian School
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