{"id":27603,"date":"2024-05-18T03:22:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T09:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-nation-president-signs-executive-order-addressing-regalia-worn-at-graduation\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T00:06:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T06:06:05","slug":"navajo-nation-president-signs-executive-order-addressing-regalia-worn-at-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/navajo-nation-president-signs-executive-order-addressing-regalia-worn-at-graduation\/","title":{"rendered":"Navajo Nation president signs executive order addressing  regalia worn at graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2ee35735-2c31-55a1-95c9-98cf0ee7c7d5&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"President Buu Nygren. Crystal Shelton\/Special to the Tri-City Record\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">President Buu Nygren. Crystal Shelton\/Special to the Tri-City Record<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed an executive order Friday calling on schools \u2013 on and off the reservation \u2013 to allow Navajo students to wear traditional regalia at commencement ceremonies, according to a news release from the administration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll schools serving Navajo students, whether within or outside the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, shall allow the display of Native cultural and ceremonial regalia at graduation ceremonies,\u201d the order states. \u201cNo school, school district, or local community-controlled school policy, whatever the alleged source of authority, shall be interpreted or applied to disallow such display.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the executive order, the governor of New Mexico issued a statement condemning Farmington High School\u2019s actions, and the school district issued an apology for the events leading up to the removal of a student\u2019s Native American regalia.<\/p>\n<p>The incident mentioned in the release took place at the Farmington High School graduation on Monday, May 13, involving Genesis White Bull, whose beaded cap along with an a\u00f3pazan \u2013 the Lakota term for a plume or feather worn in the hair \u2013 were confiscated.<\/p>\n<p>The a\u00f3pazan was then cut off by unidentified FHS staff and later pulled from a lost-and-found box by staff, damaged, and given to the graduate.<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-38f38b379af387aeb4b28602e40d86d3\">Tri-City Record<\/em> was present at the commencement and spoke to Brenda White Bull, mother of the graduate, about the incident.<\/p>\n<p>After the cap was taken from the graduate it was requested by Brenda White Bull that she take the a\u00f3pazan off herself, but it had already been cut by staff, according to the mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have probably been hearing on the news and social media what happened recently at a school in New Mexico,\u201d Nygren said at a celebration of Page Unified School District championship sports teams. \u201cWe asked permission of the superintendent and leadership if I could sign an executive order here saying let\u2019s honor our students when they graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-pdf-embed\"><iframe class=\"article-pdf\" src=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/O0a81TjXIAdogyJEEavxP6VjuD8.pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;border:1px solid #ddd\" loading=\"lazy\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/O0a81TjXIAdogyJEEavxP6VjuD8.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Regalia EO MAY 17, 2024 .pdf (Download PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/iframe>\n<p class=\"naviga-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/O0a81TjXIAdogyJEEavxP6VjuD8.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Regalia EO MAY 17, 2024 .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nygren referred to the order as a way to protect Native students at a pivotal time in their lives, the release said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of the times the eagle feathers, the plumes, the beaded caps have prayers and ceremonies that went into them,\u201d he said. \u201cSpiritually, that\u2019s what\u2019s really strengthening the students, and they want to use them because this might be the only time you ever graduated, so why should we take that away?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The order reflects the Navajo Nation\u2019s position on this matter involving Native youths toward school districts and beyond, the release said.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act of 2005, Navajo youths are protected under Navajo, state and federal laws to display cultural and ceremonial regalia at graduation, according to the release.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement in response to the same incident.<\/p>\n<p>Lujan Grisham said New Mexico is a state committed to diversity, \u201cand what happened at the Farmington High School graduation ceremony does not reflect that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She further stated that the actions of Farmington High staff were \u201cunacceptable\u201d and that a student should never be \u201creprimanded for representing their culture during a time of celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lujan Grisham further stated that she appreciated the school district acknowledging that it \u201ccould have handled this situation better and that their policy may be too restrictive. However, it shouldn\u2019t have required the student raising this issue for a school to recognize its lack of inclusivity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=8cc24420-ceda-5670-87e6-b2156ef90cbf&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1705\" alt=\"Farmington High School graduates Tyler Johnson and Genesis White Bull turn their tassels from right to left during the commencement ceremony on Monday, May 13, 2024, at Hutchison Stadium. (Curtis Ray Benally\/Special to the Tri-City Record)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Farmington High School graduates Tyler Johnson and Genesis White Bull turn their tassels from right to left during the commencement ceremony on Monday, May 13, 2024, at Hutchison Stadium. (Curtis Ray Benally\/Special to the Tri-City Record)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Farmington Municipal Schools superintendent Cody Diehl and Farmington High School principal Rocky Torres stated in an apology letter released at 4 p.m. Friday that \u201cthe intent always, is to create a ceremony that is inclusive of all graduates and honors all of our students. It is clear that what occurred detracted from that and had the opposite effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the Farmington Municipal Schools parent handbook provided to the <em id=\"emphasis-46f241feae3e37fcd87ef41143eed10b\">Tri-City Record <\/em>via an Inspection of Public Records Act request, it stated under the heading of Graduation Event Participation that \u201cthe cap and gown must be worn, and their appearance may not be altered,\u201d because \u201cthe graduation ceremony is the time to show respect toward parents and toward the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Diehl and Torres are now saying the district could learn from the experience and work toward \u201cimproving our school communities now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter apologized to the community, the student and her family \u201cfor the events at graduation involving the Native American regalia,\u201d and further stated that staff\u2019s actions \u201cintended no disrespect or to violate anyone\u2019s cultural beliefs or practices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diehl and Torres said there needs to be conversations in the community as to how to \u201cbest celebrate all of our graduates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They promised to collaborate with groups in the Navajo Nation as well as other community stakeholders \u201cto begin the healing process and figure out the best ways to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d45ef742-9037-5b37-96c6-5c651cf0410a&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1408\" alt=\"Navajo Nation President Dr. Buu Nygren on Friday signed an executive order at Page High School in Arizona to allow Navajo students to wear traditional regalia at commencement ceremonies, according to a news release from the administration. (Courtesy photo)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Navajo Nation President Dr. Buu Nygren on Friday signed an executive order at Page High School in Arizona to allow Navajo students to wear traditional regalia at commencement ceremonies, according to a news release from the administration. (Courtesy photo)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>direct result of Farmington High incident; school issues apology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1240,1222,155,799,28,1241],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-27603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aztec","tag-bloomfield","tag-education","tag-farmington","tag-headlines","tag-kirtland"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80124,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603\/revisions\/80124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27603"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=27603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}