AL student fined &diploma held 4 wearing eagle feather in cap for Native American heritage (W/Pics)

High school student fined $1,000 and has diploma withheld for wearing eagle feather in graduation cap as symbol of her Native American heritage

By BECKY EVANS

A high school student claims she has been fined $1,000 and had her diploma withheld for wearing an eagle feather in her graduation cap as a symbol of her Native American heritage. Chelsey Ramer, 17, from Alabama, is a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and wanted to wear the feather to show her pride in her culture. However, she says Escambia Academy High School forbade her from wearing the feather and then refused to give her the diploma when she broke the rules. Now, the teenager says she has been told she cannot pick up the certificate until she pays the fine imposed by the private school.

Miss Ramer told the Indian Country Today Media Network that she was 'excited' about the ceremony on May 23 but has been left dismayed by her school's reaction. She was warned she would be pulled out of the ceremony if she wore the feather but instead was refused her diploma afterwards. She said: 'I feel like this wasn’t fair. It felt like it wasn’t legal. 'It really did hurt my feelings. I have watched others wear it and I looked forward to it my whole four years there. Now when it was my turn, [they said] I couldn’t.' The teenager believes the refusal is 'discrimination'. She said repeated requests from herself and her tribal teacher, as well as other Indian seniors, were turned down. Tribal teacher Alex Alvarez told the network that the eagle feather is an important sign of their heritage and spirituality and the refusal was 'ridiculous'. The teacher said requests before the ceremony to speak to school administrators were turned down.

Mr Alvarez said: 'We don’t have much left as Indian people, to give a child an eagle feather as an achievement should be adhered to.' Miss Ramer said she approached the school's then head teacher Betty Warren about wearing the feather but was refused permission. The teenager said she, like all other graduates, were told they must sign a school contract that states no 'extraneous items' should be worn during the ceremony without prior permission. She said she refused to sign and wore the feather anyway with the full support of her family. A friend tied it to the tassel on her cap.

According to local newspaper the Atmore Advance, Miss Ramer intends to pay the fine and believes the money is worth paying to display her pride. She said: 'It was worth every penny of the thousand dollars. This is what I’ve been waiting on, and I feel like I have a right to wear it.' The newspaper said head teacher Warren resigned after the incident and was replaced.

The school has not commented on Miss Ramer's claims.