While not directly involved, the Wyandotte Nation is aware of the recent incident involving an 8-year-old Wyandotte boy who cut his hair in order to comply with the R.V. Haderlein Elementary School hair length policy for male students.

For centuries, tribal people have faced a siege of cultural oppression. This oppression has taken many forms including, but not limited to, the forced cutting of Native American men and boys’ hair in order to impose conformity with dominant white culture and to stifle long-held religious and traditional Native American practices and beliefs.

The apex of this oppressive tactic can be found during the tragic Indian boarding school era, when Native children were taken from their homes and communities, relocated to strange and distant boarding schools, and forcibly assimilated through, among other means, the cutting short of boys’ hair.

As a general principle, the Wyandotte Nation understands that schools must impose rules and regulations to limit distractions and maintain a rich educational environment. Nonetheless, we urge the R. V. Haderlein Elementary School and Girard Schools Unified School District 248 to take a close look at its rule governing boys’ hair length in light of the unique history involving Native American children. This is a culturally sensitive issue that brings to light historical traumas for many tribal nations, beyond our own.

We hope that a respectful, culturally informed discourse between the family and the school representatives will ultimately lead to a workable resolution.