Governing Board
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse, PhD President
Iva GreyWolf, PhD President Elect
Art W. Blume,PhD Immediate Past President
Royleen Ross, PhD Secretary
BJ Boyd, PhD Treasurer
Society of Indian Psychologists
Response and Recommendations for the Displaying of Spiritual and Cultural Symbols on
Graduation Regalia for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Students.
Respectfully Submitted on behalf of the Society of Indian Psychologists
on April 26, 2019 by
Gayle Skawen:nio Morse, Leah M. Rouse, Jukari Davis (community contributor), Art Blume, and
Iva GreyWolf
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States promotes freedom of
religion and prohibits the restriction of religious practices, and the American Indian Religious
Freedom Act reconfirmed that those protections apply to Native American religious practices.
Native religious practices, such as possession of sacred objects, traditions and sacred rites are
generally accepted as sufficiently religious under the first amendment freedoms. To that end
most schools, colleges, and universities who have American Indian, Alaska Native and Native
Hawaiian (AIANNH) students allow some form of traditional attire, and/or symbols, stoles,
sacred feathers, beadwork attached to or on their graduation regalia. To disallow this is unlawful
and disrespectful of AIANNH students.
This disrespect of AIANNH peoples reflects the time when the first immigrants arrived
from European countries and who, we remind you, were welcomed. At that time the settlers
began efforts to extinguish AIANNH culture and traditions. By 1879, the first formal efforts to
“save the man and kill the Indian” were initiated by the educational system in both religious and
non-sectarian boarding schools. These schools systematically made efforts to destroy Indian
language, culture, spirituality, and family systems. Research conducted with respect to these
schools, provides clear and incontrovertible evidence of torture, physical, emotional, and sexual
abuse which left a legacy of trauma for AIANNH to overcome. This legacy of trauma continues
to trickle through our communities and do damage to our children. The current research
suggests that the strength of our people is uniquely tied to our strong spiritual beliefs, cultural
traditions, kinship ties, and lifeways. Our communities have begun to heal by preserving our
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community languages, maintaining our spiritual beliefs, sustaining our kinship systems, and
retaining our stories. In essence we are strengthening our societies via our unique culture. The
National Center for Education Statistics notes American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students
particularly, have the lowest high school graduation rates by race, and lag considerably behind
for college admissions and graduation in comparison to other groups.
Thus, for AIAN communities and students, graduation is a time for exceptional joy,
ceremony, to give thanks and to honor the school personnel’s efforts, the student’s hard work,
the parent’s and elder’s support, and more importantly to recognize the Creator’s hand in the
success of all. It is a time when spiritual beliefs are on the forefront of our heartfelt thanks.
Schools, colleges, and universities that forbid our students from wearing their religious
ceremonial and cultural symbols at graduation continue the long history of disrespect, abuse
and continue to do damage to our children and it is, in a word, unlawful.
The Society of Indian Psychologists expresses its support for AIANNH students who
wish to wear their sacred feathers, tribal stoles, beaded caps and gowns. We respectfully
request that all schools, colleges, and universities respect the student wishes. Just as they allow
Christian students to wear crosses, people of Islamic faith to wear head cover, people of Sikh
faith to wear turbans and beards, or people of Jewish faith to wear Yarmulkes, our children,
young men and women have the right to wear their symbols of spirituality, religion, and tradition.
It is our hope that schools, colleges, and universities will continue to support our young people
as they earn their degrees, connect with their culture and continue to heal historical wounds.
Our young people are brave, smart, generous, thoughtful, respectful and important to the
continuation of our healing and culture. They must be supported.
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Attachment: Short list of a sample of schools that allow AIANNH traditional accoutrements on
their regalia.
School
Location
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Ashland High School
Ashland, WI
Bethel Regional High School
Bethel, AK
Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC
Carrington College
Albuquerque, NM
Central New Mexico Community College
Albuquerque, NM
Chinle High School
Chinle, AZ
Cortez High School
Cortez, CO
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC
Flagstaff High School
Flagstaff, AZ
Fort Lewis College
Durango, CO
Glen Allen High School
Glen Allen, VA
Guilford College
Greensboro, NC
Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School
Hollister, NC
Highland High School
Albuquerque, NM
Holbrook High School
Holbrook, AZ
Hopi High School
Keams Canyon, AZ
Kirtland Central High School
Kirtland, NM
Lawrence University
Appleton, WI
Menominee Indian School District (Public) Keshena, WI
New Mexico Highlands University
Las Vegas, NM
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM
New Mexico Technical University
Socorro, NM
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, OK
Page High School
Page, AZ
Pima Community College
Tucson, AZ
Purnell Swett High School
Maxton, NC
Randolph Community College
Asheboro, NC
Sage College
Troy, NY
Santa Fe Indian School
Santa Fe, NM
Shiprock High School
Shiprock, NM
Southern Vermont College
Bennington, VT
Stanford University
Palo Alto, CA
University of Alaska-Anchorage
Anchorage, AK
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
University of Miami
Miami, FL
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Greensboro, NC
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI
Wheatland Union High School
Wheatland, CA
