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“When all other Seminole, Texas students were headed to their first day of school on Monday, one little boy was sent home because his hair was too long. The five-year-old boy, Malachi Wilson, is a part of the Navajo Nation, and according to his parents, it’s against their religion to cut his hair.”
– KOB4, Navajo boy sent home from TX school because of hair length .
“A Texas mother is upset after her 5-year-old son, a Navajo Nation citizen, was sent home on his first day of kindergarten because of his long hair.
The Seminole Independent School District said it was following procedure when Malachi Wilson was sent home on his first day at F.J. Young Elementary, a local CBS affiliate reported. His mother, April, said it’s against their religion to cut his hair.
“Our hair is sacred to us, it makes us part of who we are,” she told the station.
Miss Wilson contacted the Navajo Nation, which provided the school with the proper documentation to enroll Malachi by the end of the first day, the station reported.
“I also spoke with the American Indian movement, they had also contacted the superintendent, when they contacted the superintendent, they had told them that they were going to accept Malachi into school,” she said.
School district officials pointed CBS to a page in their handbook that states, “certain recognized religious or spiritual beliefs may qualify for an exception from provisions of the dress code.” The handbook goes on to say that with proper documentation all students are allowed.”
– Washington Times, Navajo boy, 5, sent home from Texas school for long hair.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #34 – Save the Man (Kill the Indian).
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
