Native students could wear tribal regalia at graduation with bill under consideration
Indigenous students would be allowed to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies under a bill introduced in the Wisconsin state Legislature.
While state law provides some protections for a student’s religious beliefs, ancestry, creed, race and national origin, it doesn't explicitly address an American Indian student’s right to wear traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event.
“Many other states across the United States have enacted laws protecting Indigenous students’ right to wear items of religious and cultural significance at graduation ceremonies and other school events, and I look forward to Wisconsin being added to that growing list of states,” said David O’Connor, American Indian studies consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and a member of the Bad River Ojibwe tribe.
“We know denying a young person’s identity and culture is an act of harm. In contrast, embracing and celebrating that very culture creates great benefit to all students.”
The Wisconsin chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also supports the bill.
“Tribal regalia worn at commencement are a symbol of resistance, resilience and reclamation by students of their right to an education that honors their culture and heritage,” it said in a statement. “But for some Indigenous students, graduation can be fraught with uncertainty or controversy over their ability to wear tribal regalia during commencement ceremonies.”
The DPI noted in an email to legislators that Montana, among other states, recently passed a bill allowing tribal regalia to be worn by Native students at public events. Other states that allow tribal regalia to be worn at graduation ceremonies include Utah and North Dakota.
A public hearing on the bill was held in October and the Assembly Education Committee unanimously approved it Dec. 5, sending it to the full Assembly. But the bill hasn't had a hearing in the Senate Education Committee
A similar bill was vetoed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this year but it was overridden by the state legislature. And a federal appeals court ruled in December 2022 that a lawsuit filed by an Arizona woman had merit after she was turned away from her high school graduation in Arizona because she was wearing a beaded cap crowned with an eagle feather. The student and her father settled the suit with the school district in April.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the Paste BN Network. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.