Indianz.Com > News > Native America Calling: Graduation ceremonies are a battleground over regalia
Native America Calling
Listen to Native America Calling every weekday at 1pm Eastern.
Native America Calling: Graduation ceremonies are a battleground over regalia
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Graduation ceremonies are a battleground over regalia
New Mexico is the latest of more than 20 states to formally recognize Native American students’ right to express their cultural heritage at graduation ceremonies.
Those expressions are typically in the form of eagle feathers, beadwork, moccasins, or other traditional dress worn during the ceremony with gowns and mortarboard caps. But many Native students elsewhere continue to face resistance from school boards and administrators.
One Wyoming school principal told a student if he “let one minority do it, then I’d have to let the rest.”
Tune into Native America Calling to recognize this year’s graduating seniors and get up to speed on the ongoing fight over ceremonial regalia.
Guests on Native America Calling
Heather Hostler (Hupa), executive director of California Indian Legal Services
Tracie Yellowman Tséyíníítsó (Diné), University of Utah 2025 student commencement speaker
Morgan Saunders, senior staff attorney in Washington, D.C. office at Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
VIDEO: H.R.3073, the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act
AUDIO: H.R.3073, the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act
Native America Calling: Re-enactors help bring Native American perspective of the Revolutionary War to life
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 2, Afternoon Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 2, Morning Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 1, Afternoon Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 1, Morning Session
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know This Week (March 16, 2026)
Tom Cole: Americans are feeling the impact of a government shutdown
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation studies impacts of data centers
Native America Calling: What’s in a (tribe’s) name?
Native America Calling: A John Wayne treasure or disaster?
‘These are treaty and trust responsibilities’: Lawmakers struggle with tribal water rights
Native America Calling: Confronting forced sterilization of Native women
VIDEO: Examining Federal Policies Governing Indian Water Rights Settlements and S.953, Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act
More Headlines
AUDIO: H.R.3073, the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act
Native America Calling: Re-enactors help bring Native American perspective of the Revolutionary War to life
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 2, Afternoon Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 2, Morning Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 1, Afternoon Session
VIDEO: American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 1, Morning Session
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know This Week (March 16, 2026)
Tom Cole: Americans are feeling the impact of a government shutdown
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation studies impacts of data centers
Native America Calling: What’s in a (tribe’s) name?
Native America Calling: A John Wayne treasure or disaster?
‘These are treaty and trust responsibilities’: Lawmakers struggle with tribal water rights
Native America Calling: Confronting forced sterilization of Native women
VIDEO: Examining Federal Policies Governing Indian Water Rights Settlements and S.953, Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act
More Headlines