Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
During her high school graduation on Monday, May 13, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe citizen Genesis White Bull had her beaded cap and her eagle plume removed.
As the national anthem played during the 2024 Farmington High School graduation ceremony in New Mexico, two staff members approached the Hunkpapa Lakota graduate and told her to remove her mortarboard. White Bull’s mortarboard was decorated around the edges with beadwork and featured an aópazan, or eagle plume, as a tassel.
The family said White Bull’s mother stepped in and requested to remove the plume herself, but was denied. White Bull was given a blank standard mortarboard to wear. Behind her, another Indigenous student clutched her cap with an eagle feather attached.
Following the incident, White Bull’s family posted a video of the incident to social media, garnering support from Indian Country and calling for the Farmington Municipal School District to apologize and correct its policies.
“We stand with all Native students who decide to wear traditional regalia at graduation. Our regalia holds cultural significance and how we show pride in our Native identities,” a May 16 statement from the American Indian College Fund said. “Students should be able to go to schools that are welcoming and inclusive of their Native identities. When students feel valued and supported, they know they are not alone and can find success in whatever they set their mind to.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman Janet Alkire said she watched the video on social media and will be reaching out to the school district.
Farmington Municipal Schools responded on May 16. A message issued to the school community said that the staff involved were following district guidelines stating that caps and gowns must be worn without an altered appearance.
The school district said that students were informed of this throughout the school year and immediately before graduation.
“Moving forward, we will work to refine our processes at the school level. The district is also committed to exploring the addition of a district policy that allows for additional appropriate cultural elements in student attire, including graduation caps and gowns,” the statement said.
The statement did include that eagle feathers are permitted to be worn at graduation.
“The plume (itself) was not cut, it was wrapped up in the tassel and when we exchanged the caps we couldn’t give it back,” said Roberto Taboada Farmington Municipal School’s Public Information Officer in an interview with ICT. “We removed it by cutting next to the button, but the plume remained intact. Exchanging the cap and returning the plume happened in I would say a period of 14 minutes.”
Taboada said that Farmington Municipal Schools supports its Indigenous students. He said that a Native graduate honoring was held one week ago.
“I think it would be lovely if the community would take a look at the work we’ve done this year alone to celebrate and accomplish,” Taboada said. “We held our Native senior celebration a few weeks ago where we recognize not just student achievement but also Native culture.”
Farmington borders the Navajo Nation and has a long history of anti-Indigenous racism.
In 1974, four Navajo men were found brutally murdered by three White teens attending Farmington High School as part of a practice called “Indian rolling.”
The Navajo Nation responded with protests and brought in the American Indian Movement.
In the end, the perpetrators served no time for their roles, instead, they were sent to reform schools.
Thirty years later, the New Mexico Advisory Board to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reported that while race relations had somewhat improved, racism is still an issue in Farmington.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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