Native American child sent home over traditional mohawk

David DeMille | The (St. George, Utah) Spectrum

ST. GEORGE, Utah — A 7-year-old Native American student was removed from his classroom this week after school officials decided his Mohawk haircut was too distracting.

The second-grader, whose parents are Seneca and Paiute, chose a hairstyle that is popular with native peoples in many places, his father said Thursday, but his wife still received a call from the school saying it went against the Arrowhead Elementary School’s dress code.

He was allowed to return to class only after a member of the Seneca National Tribe, located in New York, penned a letter to Washington County School District administrators confirming that the hairstyle is a common tradition among tribal members.

“It is common for Seneca boys to wear a Mohawk because after years of discrimination and oppression, they are proud to share who they are,” wrote William Canella, a Seneca Nation Tribal Councilor. “It’s disappointing that your school does not view diversity in a positive manner, and it is our hope that (the boy) does not suffer any discrimination by the school administration or faculty as a result of his hair cut.”

Gary Sanden, the boy’s father, said Thursday that he was sympathetic with the school’s reasoning behind having a dress code, but was unsure why he had to jump through so many hoops to have his son’s style approved.

He said his wife was called first and initially told she needed to come in to pick the boy up and have the hairstyle changed. The parents offered to bring in a tribal card proving the boy is Native American, but the district demanded a tribal letter.

“I have two (sons) who go to Arrowhead,” Sanden said. “My other boy, he’s 10, didn’t want a Mohawk and went with the non-native haircut, kind of high and tight. So the principal says well, you have another son here who doesn’t have a Mohawk, why can’t you cut (the younger boy’s) hair that way too.”

Sanden said the family had decided to decline showing a photograph of their son’s haircut, citing concerns about backlash he might receive at the school due to media attention. A family acquaintance, and not Sanden or other family members, first contacted The Spectrum & Daily News about the incident.

Rex Wilkey, assistant superintendent over primary education, said he thought the issue was overblown. District policy allows for school administrators to judge what constitutes “distracting,” and such judgment calls are part of what always makes enforcement of a dress code difficult. Once it was shown that there was a cultural value attached to the boy’s haircut, he was allowed back into class, he said.

“We try to reflect the values and norms of the community,” Wilkey said. “Some things are a little more clear cut, and some things are a little more controversial. You try to manage it the best you can. Kids come in dressed all kinds of ways and it can be an issue for the school.”

According to the district dress code, “Extremes in body piercings, hair styles and hair colors may be considered a distraction or disruption.”

The policy has been amended several times since it was first adopted in 1998, most recently in 2013 after a similar incident that raised the ire of upset parents.

In that instance, Rylee MacKay, a 15-year-old Hurricane Middle School student at the time, was suspended for dying her hair a shade of red administrators argued did not fall under the spectrum of natural hair colors.

The school board chose to strip out some of the more specific language in the policy, deciding instead to let individual school administrators decide which styles were a problem.

John Mejia, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said school districts are given a lot of discretion in setting dress and appearance standards, “but it is well established law that you do not shed all of your constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door.”

When it comes to religious or cultural issues where a particular style is important to an individual student and his or her family, the school needs to make a reasonable accommodation, Mejia said.