Post by Okwes on Jun 2, 2006 8:58:46 GMT -5
Graduation is a time to celebrate your culture
05/28/2006 - MISSOULA MT
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian
My younger brother, Whitney Bell, made me proud the day he walked
across the stage to receive his diploma for a master's degree in
communication.
He looked like he was 7 feet tall as he wore a beautiful,
black-tipped eagle feather headdress.
I remember the morning of his graduation. He rushed about, taking
care of last-minute details. His to-do list included making a visit
to the dean's office, because he was told he needed permission to
wear his eagle feathers, traditional symbols of achievement.
I said: Don't ask, just do it.
But, understandably, he wanted this special day to be more
predictable. So he went to see college administrators at St. Cloud
State University in Minnesota.
“They didn't know anything about eagle feathers,” he said. “They
didn't know about my culture, or me.”
Luckily, there was an Indian Center in St. Cloud. School officials
called there to get the lowdown on our Northern Plains tribes, the
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. They later called Whitney to say he
could wear his headdress.
I still remember all the foreign students who wanted my brother to
pose for photographs with them. Was it because he was tall and
handsome? Or were they in awe of our tribal traditions?
We enjoyed that day. But across the country, Native students are
battling school officials over the right to wear sacred eagle
feathers, a revered cultural item for tribes all over the United States.
In some cases, school officials have humiliated Native graduates.
Last year, a high school student in Portland, Ore., had eagle plumes
pulled from her head. And a student in Pocatello, Idaho, was removed
from his high school procession because he wore an eagle feather.
This year, high school students in Mesa, Ariz., prevailed. The school
had banned wearing eagle feathers with caps and gowns at Westwood
High School, where 225 Native students attend classes.
Ryan Wilson, president of the National Indian Education Association,
said many people in reservation communities can't believe Native
students face these problems, which happen mainly in urban areas.
But he tells them: “Trust me. It happens. It happens all over the
place.”
A week ago, the Associated Press reported 50 students in New York
“quietly protested outside their school Friday, upset with a decision
to allow six seniors to wear their traditional Onondaga regalia to
graduation next month.”
Graduation ceremonies shouldn't be a cultural battleground for Native
students.
But they are. More than 90 percent of some 600,000 Native students
attend public school, where decision-makers often lack cultural
knowledge. The problem becomes exacerbated, Wilson said, when Natives
make up 1 percent of the U.S. population but are expected to educate
the other 99 percent.
Students don't have that kind of time, he said.
The Indian Education Association president issued a statement
encouraging students to wear their eagle plumes and feathers. And
don't ask for permission, he said, “even if it's in defiance of
ill-conceived school district policies.”
Express your tribal identity, he said, especially on a day that half
their Native classmates won't enjoy because they dropped out.
School officials like to argue that nothing can be worn to dishonor
the cap and gown. But they fail to understand a sacred eagle feather
brings honor to the person wearing it.
Others around the feather benefit, too.
At Wyoming Indian School in Ethete, Wyo., high school graduates don't
even wear a cap and gown. Instead, every student wears traditional
clothing and as many eagle feathers as they want.
If the National Indian Education Association encourages students to
carry wings or wear a headdress from the revered bald or golden eagle
- even in defiance of the rules - then educational institutions ought
to heed the message.
Schools that fail to recognize tribal traditions reflect a cultural
ignorance reminiscent of turn-of-the-century boarding schools. I'd
say cultural arrogance, but it seems most people opposed to cultural
integrity have none themselves.
When I graduated from the University of Colorado, I wanted to carry
an eagle fan. I didn't think I should have to ask anyone. There was
some initial protest from school officials, but my mom and sister
encouraged me to carry it anyway.
So I did.
The most memorable moment of my college graduation was when I walked
across the stage. My friends and family sat in the building where I
attended journalism classes. I heard my Aunt Alyce “lulu,” meaning
she rattled a woman's cry of honor for me.
I felt so proud. My chin trembled. I held back tears. I left the
stage with a college diploma in one hand and an eagle fan in the other.
Jodi Rave covers Native issues for the Missoulian and other Lee
Enterprises newspapers. She can be reached at jodi.rave@lee.net or
(800) 366-7186, ext. 299
From: dorindamoreno@comcast.net
05/28/2006 - MISSOULA MT
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian
My younger brother, Whitney Bell, made me proud the day he walked
across the stage to receive his diploma for a master's degree in
communication.
He looked like he was 7 feet tall as he wore a beautiful,
black-tipped eagle feather headdress.
I remember the morning of his graduation. He rushed about, taking
care of last-minute details. His to-do list included making a visit
to the dean's office, because he was told he needed permission to
wear his eagle feathers, traditional symbols of achievement.
I said: Don't ask, just do it.
But, understandably, he wanted this special day to be more
predictable. So he went to see college administrators at St. Cloud
State University in Minnesota.
“They didn't know anything about eagle feathers,” he said. “They
didn't know about my culture, or me.”
Luckily, there was an Indian Center in St. Cloud. School officials
called there to get the lowdown on our Northern Plains tribes, the
Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. They later called Whitney to say he
could wear his headdress.
I still remember all the foreign students who wanted my brother to
pose for photographs with them. Was it because he was tall and
handsome? Or were they in awe of our tribal traditions?
We enjoyed that day. But across the country, Native students are
battling school officials over the right to wear sacred eagle
feathers, a revered cultural item for tribes all over the United States.
In some cases, school officials have humiliated Native graduates.
Last year, a high school student in Portland, Ore., had eagle plumes
pulled from her head. And a student in Pocatello, Idaho, was removed
from his high school procession because he wore an eagle feather.
This year, high school students in Mesa, Ariz., prevailed. The school
had banned wearing eagle feathers with caps and gowns at Westwood
High School, where 225 Native students attend classes.
Ryan Wilson, president of the National Indian Education Association,
said many people in reservation communities can't believe Native
students face these problems, which happen mainly in urban areas.
But he tells them: “Trust me. It happens. It happens all over the
place.”
A week ago, the Associated Press reported 50 students in New York
“quietly protested outside their school Friday, upset with a decision
to allow six seniors to wear their traditional Onondaga regalia to
graduation next month.”
Graduation ceremonies shouldn't be a cultural battleground for Native
students.
But they are. More than 90 percent of some 600,000 Native students
attend public school, where decision-makers often lack cultural
knowledge. The problem becomes exacerbated, Wilson said, when Natives
make up 1 percent of the U.S. population but are expected to educate
the other 99 percent.
Students don't have that kind of time, he said.
The Indian Education Association president issued a statement
encouraging students to wear their eagle plumes and feathers. And
don't ask for permission, he said, “even if it's in defiance of
ill-conceived school district policies.”
Express your tribal identity, he said, especially on a day that half
their Native classmates won't enjoy because they dropped out.
School officials like to argue that nothing can be worn to dishonor
the cap and gown. But they fail to understand a sacred eagle feather
brings honor to the person wearing it.
Others around the feather benefit, too.
At Wyoming Indian School in Ethete, Wyo., high school graduates don't
even wear a cap and gown. Instead, every student wears traditional
clothing and as many eagle feathers as they want.
If the National Indian Education Association encourages students to
carry wings or wear a headdress from the revered bald or golden eagle
- even in defiance of the rules - then educational institutions ought
to heed the message.
Schools that fail to recognize tribal traditions reflect a cultural
ignorance reminiscent of turn-of-the-century boarding schools. I'd
say cultural arrogance, but it seems most people opposed to cultural
integrity have none themselves.
When I graduated from the University of Colorado, I wanted to carry
an eagle fan. I didn't think I should have to ask anyone. There was
some initial protest from school officials, but my mom and sister
encouraged me to carry it anyway.
So I did.
The most memorable moment of my college graduation was when I walked
across the stage. My friends and family sat in the building where I
attended journalism classes. I heard my Aunt Alyce “lulu,” meaning
she rattled a woman's cry of honor for me.
I felt so proud. My chin trembled. I held back tears. I left the
stage with a college diploma in one hand and an eagle fan in the other.
Jodi Rave covers Native issues for the Missoulian and other Lee
Enterprises newspapers. She can be reached at jodi.rave@lee.net or
(800) 366-7186, ext. 299
From: dorindamoreno@comcast.net