After an administrator told a high school Navajo student that he couldn’t wear tribal regalia on the graduation stage, he brought his concerns to the district governing board Wednesday.

Adrian Yazzie, a 17-year-old student at Cortez High School, like many other Native American students, anticipates wearing items such as moccasins, a feather, turquoise jewelry and possibly bead his cap when he graduates in 2028.

When he heard about Cortez’s rule that students weren’t allowed to decorate their caps and gowns, he asked Jennifer Krumpos, Cortez’ assistant principal of student services, specifically about tribal regalia. According to Yazzie, she told him the district didn’t allow decoration of any kind, even after he pointed out the state law that protects students’ right to wear regalia commemorating Native American culture.

That law passed in 2021. It states any public or charter school can’t prevent a student who is part of a federally recognized Native American tribe from wearing things of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies.

After Krumpos told Yazzie no, he initiated communication with the district. Gabriel Gamino Guerrero, executive director of community relations, assured Yazzie that Glendale Union High School District as a whole recognizes the law and allows students to wear these items at ceremonies.

Yazzie personally met with Cortez Principal Brooke Parsons in August, and Yazzie said he was told he may have been misinformed because of a lack of training. After administrators told Yazzie conflicting rules, he came to the GUHSD board meeting Sept. 17.

“So I would like to ask the board, (since 2021), what has the district done to improve this process? What are they going to do to make sure every staff member is trained on graduation?” Yazzie asked. “No student should have to question whether they can honor their culture at their graduation.”

Krumpos declined to comment when asked about Cortez graduation procedures.

“We’ve always been in compliance and even prior to (2021), we respected and allowed students to decorate and wear whatever they deemed was appropriate for graduations,” Guerrero said.

The law was signed under former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. The bill was introduced by former District 7 Rep. Arlando Teller after he heard a story about a high school graduate who was discouraged from walking across the stage for wearing tribal regalia. He didn’t think that was “appropriate and right.”

“This was a tool that would not only encourage families to support their child walking the graduation line, but also show their pride of who they are, where they come from, and represent their family, the community and their nation,” said Teller, who is also a member of the Navajo tribe.

Teller said prior to the law, most school districts outside of tribal lands just created a uniform for their graduates without regard to cultural differences. The right to celebrate a person’s culture through clothing at graduation came to light at a time where representation was a common issue circulating in the political climate, according to the representative.

Gwendolyn Owen is a student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.