Family disappointed in response from school board

Photo: L-R (Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools School Board): Donna Blocker – Superintendent Secretary, Shannon Ravenscroft – Treasurer, Tim Nollette – Board Member, Betty Williams – Board Member, Kurt Busenitz – Vice President, Bethany Swedener – Secretary, Adam Nasland – President, Adam Lambert – Superintendent. Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools School Board listened to the family of the girls’ whose hair was cut during school for suspicion of having head lice. Also, in attendance were concerned tribal leaders from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. (Photo courtesy Alice Johnson-Leroy)

PIERRE – The family of the girls’ who had their hair allegedly cut by a school official voice their concerns to the school board.
Several concerned tribal members came in support of the family during the Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools School Board meeting. Those in attendance from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe were; Ione Quigley – Educator, Lila Kills In Sight – RST Council Member, Neva Stands – Tribal Member, and Caroline Kills In Sight – Norma’s grandmother, and Ila Covey-Zais – Alice’s mother.
Alice Johnson-Leroy, mother to one of the alleged victims, said she was somewhat disappointed by the lack of genuine response from the school board, but not surprised. She feels the school board’s lack of response was in part due to the fact that she is seeking legal counsel and is in contact with the ACLU regarding the incidents in which her niece’s and daughter’s hair were both cut during school hours, according to the statement the children made to Johnson-Leroy.
If the accusations are true about the students’ hair being cut while school officials searched for head lice during school hours, the cutting of their hair brings back the historical trauma of Indian children being taken placed in mission boarding schools, and having their hair cut within days of arrival. This cutting of the hair was the first step in the process in stripping away a student’s cultural identity. Johnson-Leroy has been vocal on social media since the incident which took place in Kilgore, NE, just south of the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Tearful testimony was given to the school board from the family and tribal members.
Also witnessing the school board meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 9, were; Jodie Arnold – Music Teacher, Kristen Fay – Guidance Counselor, Mike Anderson – 3rd Grade Teacher, April Lambert – Wife of Adam Lambert (Superintendent), and Deputy Daily of the Cherry County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy told the family this was his first school board meeting he had attended.
Johnson-Leroy wants her niece’s and daughter’s stories told. She wants the alleged incidents to become a part of a larger dialogue, which exposes the mistreatment of Indian children in today’s society.

(Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at Richie 4175@gmail.com)

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