Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
The Hinckley-Finlayson school board said its participation may violate the U.S. Constitution
About 100 students and community members gathered outside the Hinckley-Finlayson High School Wednesday afternoon to sing and drum in protest of a school board decision to bar a tribal drum group from performing at their graduation ceremony.
DULUTH - Students walked out of a central Minnesota school district Wednesday in protest of a decision to block a tribal drum group from performing at a graduation ceremony, a blow to the Native American students who make up nearly a third of the graduating class.
The Hinckley-Finlayson school board voted Monday, basing the decision partly on advice from legal counsel. The drum group, which hoped to perform the Ojibwe traveling song, took part in last year's ceremony. The district says it would no longer allow it, or performances from any other extracurricular groups.
A memo to the board said the school district's attorney cited the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which says government should remain neutral on religion.
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