“Everybody was watching on live stream as I had to take it off,' Trinidad Cervantes said about her hand-beaded cap for graduation.
in honor of their heritage,” said Bow, 61, noting that her own granddaughter also wasn’t allowed to wear regalia on her graduation cap.The high school graduation rate has long been lower for Native American students, said Bow, pointing to athat shows Indigenous teens are two to three times more likely to drop out of school than their White peers.
Bow reached out to Utah lawmakers Rep. Angela Romero and Sen. Jani Iwamoto , who sponsored a bill calling for a statewide policy change. “It’s about their families and it’s about honor and respect,” she said. “No Native student should have to face barriers in honoring their culture and their spirituality.”Bow said that decorating a cap with beadwork and eagle feathers has become more popular in recent years.