According to The Voice, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights seeking an order prohibiting the use of Indian nicknames, mascots, chants, and imagery.
Continue reading...According to a CBS/Associated Press (AP) report, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Livingston Parish school district on behalf of Seth Chaisson, a native American student, for suspending Chaisson for violating the dress code which prohibits male from having long hair. Attorney Katherine Schwartzmann says the student, who is a Houma Indian, won’t cut his hair because of religious and cultural beliefs. But she says parish school officials at a hearing did not appear to think his beliefs are sincere.
Continue reading...The Associated Press reports in the Superior Telegram that the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI) has ordered Osseo-Fairchild School District (OFSD) to drop its Chieftains nickname and logo after a determination that it was race-based and promoted discrimination and harassment. Under recently enacted legislation, WDPI has the authority to order schools to drop their race-based nicknames and logos if they are deemed discriminatory.
Continue reading...In a 2-1 split, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (LA, TX, MS) three-judge panel has ruled that a school district violated a male Native American student’s rights under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA), even though the district offered the student an exemption from its grooming policy barring male students from having long hair, because the exemption’s restrictions on the manner in which the hair could be worn substantially burdened the student’s free exercise of religion without serving any compelling governmental interest.
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