High School Grad Sues School District

High school graduate Lena Black, an enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and of Osage descent, filed a lawsuit on May 15 against the Broken Arrow School District for violating her rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.

During Black’s high school graduation in 2022, school officials made several attempts to forcibly remove a sacred eagle plume that Black wore on her cap. The plume, which she received in a ceremony when she was three years old, was damaged during these attempts. Black recounted passing multiple checkpoints leading up to the ceremony before being approached by a school counselor and security guard who “kept trying to take it off her.”

According to Black, who spoke to the Tulsa World, the feather was fastened to her mortarboard and that she had previously been informed it would be acceptable due to its cultural significance.

“My eagle plume has been part of my cultural and spiritual practices since I was three years old,” Black said in a statement. ‘I wore this plume on graduation day in recognition of my academic achievement and to carry the prayers of my Otoe-Missouria community with me. The law protects my right to wear this eagle plume at my graduation, and school officials had no authority to forcibly remove it from my cap.”

The school system declined to comment on the case.

“At this time, the District has not yet been served with a court filing on behalf of Ms. Black,” Broken Arrow Public Schools Chief Communications Officer Tara Thompson wrote in an email to Native News Online. “As a result, it would be inappropriate to comment publicly as to such a lawsuit.”

Thompson pointed out that the school district operates a protocol that allows students to receive permission to don regalia or other culturally meaningful items during their graduation ceremony. This process, she explained, is designed to deter cultural appropriation and to ensure decorum is maintained throughout the ceremony.

In order to make a request, students are required to complete an online form available on the school district’s website, along with submitting a photograph of the item they wish to wear. Native American students seeking approval for their regalia work in conjunction with the district’s Indian education coordinator. Students who are not Native American, but wish to wear items representing their cultural or religious significance, consult with their high school principal for consent.

The lawsuit indicates that the district’s Indian education coordinator is currently on a leave of absence until September 2023. There was no acting director present at the time of Black’s graduation.

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and Pipestem Law, P.C. are the legal counsel for Black.

“We will hold the Broken Arrow School District accountable for its discriminatory actions,” NARF Staff Attorney Morgan Saunders said in a statement. “The Broken Arrow School District violated Ms. Black’s rights despite existing laws that should have ensured she was able to wear her eagle plume without incident.”

Wilson Pipestem, a partner at Pipestem Law, noted that the lawsuit serves as an example of why individual school districts shouldn’t be in charge of making decisions on graduation regalia.

“Without clarity from the State, Native students will continue to be forced to seek justice in the courts after their rights have been violated and their graduation ceremonies are long since over,” Pipestream said.

While customs differ, graduates from various Tribal Nations mark their scholastic success and honor their spiritual and religious beliefs by donning particular attire or accessories, such as eagle plumes, at graduation ceremonies.

“I filed this lawsuit to ensure everyone understands the importance of items like my eagle plume and to prevent schools from targeting Native students like me in the future,” Black said. “No student should face ignorance and discrimination in their school or their community.”

Following Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s recent veto of Oklahoma Senate Bill 429, which was passed by the state legislature with essentially unanimous bipartisan support to outlaw discriminatory graduation dress regulations, a lawsuit was filed and extensive media coverage for this incident. The law would have confirmed Native American students’ constitutional rights to graduate with tribal regalia, a crucial safeguard in the state with the second-highest population of American Indians.

Governor Stitt, a Cherokee Nation enrolled person, overrode the bill with a veto and urged that this matter be handled at the district level instead.

Otoe-Missouria Chairman John Shotten said in a statement issued by the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma on May 17, “Lena Black and her family are well known among the Otoe-Missouria people. From the Elk Clan, Lena serves as the Princess for our Red Rock Creek Gourd Dance Society. She does not stand alone. Her Otoe-Missouria Tribe and People stand with her as she fights to vindicate her rights and make positive change for all Native students.”