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In 2015, Chelsea Schmitt and six other students successfully petitioned officials at Bismarck Public Schools to allow students to wear eagle feathers at their high school graduation ceremonies.

The eagle feather — a symbol of strength and honor, and "not just a decoration" — is gifted to Native Americans when they reach a milestone in their lives, such as a graduation, Schmitt told a room full of lawmakers on Monday.

"Like my Native American family members have in the past, I got to wear a piece of my culture, a piece of who I am, on a very important day in my life," Schmitt said.

On Monday, the House Education Committee held a hearing for a bill that would allow students to wear "traditional tribal regalia or objects of cultural significance" at public events, such as a graduation. The bill — House Bill 1335 — would prohibit school districts from creating policies that bar students from wearing these items.

Bismarck Public Schools is one of a number of schools in the state to allow students to wear eagle feathers at their graduation. Mandan Public Schools also allows students to wear feathers and has for the past five to six years, according to Superintendent Mike Bitz.