A letter with a strand of hair

This strand of hair was provided to mother, Alice Johnson-Leroy from Superintendent Adam Lambert following an incident in which her child’s hair was cut during school hours under suspicion of having head lice. (Photo courtesy Alice Johnson-Leroy)

PIERRE – The mother of the daughter whose hair was cut at school received a letter from the superintendent, along with a strand of the child’s hair.
Last week, NSNT reported on an incident at the elementary school of Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools in which a young Native American girl’s hair was cut at school while a staff member searched for head lice. The school board meeting was attended by family and supporters last week in a meeting which led to disappointment for the child’s family.
Adding to the disappointment, according to the child’s mother, Alice Johnson-Leroy, was a letter presented to her family from school superintendent, Adam Lambert, along with a single strand of hair. The hair was taped to a piece of paper titled, “Amyrah 4-4-2020”. This may be an error on school official’s part, as the incident happened in March, 2020.
In part the letter stated, “…I want to thank you and your family for coming to the school board meeting on Monday, March 9 and on the Lakota culture. Your presentation was not only informational but extremely professional. As a public school we try to recognize all of the different cultural beliefs that enter through our doors, but know that there are always new things to learn and adjustments to be made. We don’t believe that this one meeting will be or should be the end of our conversation. We hope that this is a great starting point in working in collaboration with one another as we move forward. Included in this mailing is the single strand of hair that you requested so that it may be properly disposed according to your cultural beliefs and practices. Moving forward, if the district suspects lice or nits on your child, a phone call will be made home for you to come and pick up your child from school.”
Johnson-Leroy today told NSNT, “That was an admittance of guilt.” The mother has been upset that her child was put through this shame and humiliation by school officials.
During the school board meeting last week, Johnson-Leroy said she wanted to convey the message that she entrusts the school staff to teach and care for her children. Although they have had problems in the past, those were resolved through conversations. The hair cutting incident got personal for Johnson-Leroy and wife, Norma. The parents had asked the school board what gave them the right to cut their child’s hair. No one responded to this question, according to Johnson-Leroy. “I feel like they didn’t really care to listen to what we had to say, and I feel as though they think they did nothing wrong.”
Since the alleged incident on school grounds, Amyrah has shut down and has not wanted to discuss what had happened. “She is the type that thinks out of sight, out of mind. A week later and she is still crying every morning, not wanting to go to school. That right there tells me a lot,” said the concerned mother.
The letter from Superintendent Adam Lambert was given to wife, Norma, after school last week by school Para-Professional, Reed Ford. It was a manila envelope with the letter from Lambert, along with the strand of hair.
“Norma walked back to the car shaking her head and handed me the envelope. They thanked us for going to their school board meeting and for educating them on our ways. The superintendent stated that if there is ever lice suspected, that I will be called at home and my child will be sent home. He also said he was enclosing my daughter’s hair. No apology or nothing!’ said Johnson-Leroy.
“There was a second piece of paper in the envelope with my daughter’s name on it dated [April] 4th and one strand of hair taped to it. I wondered why they cut so much hair but they only sent home one strand of hair. How do I even know that it’s my daughter’s hair? Why did they keep one strand of hair for a week? What happened to the other hairs?” she said. “In the meeting, we were told Marvanne (school secretary who allegedly cut the child’s hair) was keeping the hair for filing purposes.
The whole incident seems strange and antiquated, according to the mother. She has gone over the school policies with a fine-tooth comb and has found no literature stating the school’s actions were part of policy. “I think that they thought sending home one strand of hair would shut me up. I think they feel that I’m satisfied with receiving the one strand of hair. I feel as though they are trying to make me look dumb. Is this one of their tactics to make me look like a “dumb Indian”?
Johnson-Leroy said she has not heard from other families to see if this was a common practice or an isolated incident. She stated the school does not have a nurse or medical professional on staff to handle incidents like students having head lice.
“The ACLU of Lincoln has taken my case. They have been in contact with me on a daily basis. They are currently writing up a letter to send to the School Board, Superintendent, and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. They are very specific in what they are asking to be done and I am very pleased with their work that they are doing,” she said. “I have been told numerous times how lucky I am to have them working on my case because they don’t take many cases when it comes to Native Americans.”
Johnson-Leroy said she hopes the school secretary gets some cultural-sensitivity training, as this information is valuable when working close to tribal territories. “Also, that she be reprimanded for doing what she did. I would like for the school to make every teacher and staff member go through the proper training and get educated with Native American cultures. I would love for the school to add a Native American History class to their curriculum and to acknowledge Native American History Month. I would also like for the head lice policy to change,” she said. “The CDC website recommends that children should not be sent home for head lice, that their education is more important than absenteeism from head lice.”
To date, the secretary has not been reprimanded, wrote up, or suspended from work for allegedly cutting a student’s hair during school hours while searching for head lice. “Something should be seriously done to her because of the harm she has caused my children and niece. I am asked that she be put on leave until she completes Native American Cultural Training before she returns to work.”
Johnson-Leroy says she is unsure of what the next step is in this process of getting some kind of justice for her child. She feels her daughter’s rights have been violated in many ways; including as a young girl and Native American. “We will present them with this (ACLU) letter and see how they respond to it. I would like to sue them and am reaching out to attorneys who could help me in that process. For now, I am taking it one day at a time and working on it a little every day. This is something that will take a lot of time but I have the patience to see justice for my babies. I don’t care how long it takes/ I won’t back down until we are satisfied with the outcome.”

(Contact Richie Richards at richie4175@gmal.com)

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