File this one under ridiculous. Their mascot might be the Seminole Chieftains, but these Native American high school seniors cannot wear eagle feathers at their high school graduation. Native News Online took a closer look at the issue.
In Seminole county, Oklahoma, at Seminole High School, the student body is 49 percent Native American according to a Public School Review online record (http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/66602). And even though they Native students account for a large part of the student body, the Native seniors, were informed they were not allowed to put an eagle feather on their graduation caps.
Parent of Senior Sefuan White, Amari White (Seminole, Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw) said his son, along with three other cousins, already had eagle feathers prepared and to find out they couldn’t wear it, he was surprised.
“Why would it bother someone, they worked so hard to graduate? I find it odd that it would be told to them that they can’t wear it. How do you tell the people who worked on that feather, that beaded it, that now they can’t wear it?”
When asked about how White felt knowing that his son’s high school’s mascot is the Chieftans, but now the school is not letting the Native families honor their own students, White stated, “it does confuse me, that you use the Chieftan mascot, but you can’t honor with a feather, when you have painted on the walls, it confuses me.”
Native News Online spoke with the principal, and to confuse the matter, there is no actual rule on the books against the feathers.
Seminole high school principal, Michael Crawford stated in a telephone interview “no one is allowed to put anything on their graduation caps, although there is no rule, that is our Seminole (high school) tradition, we don’t put anything on them.”
So what do you think? Since there is no rule should the students go ahead and wear them? Hopefully there are no repercussions if they do decide to wear. Maybe a new tradition can start.
