TACOMA — Tacoma Public Schools stands accused of discrimination after an Indigenous student was prohibited from wearing tribal regalia at her June graduation ceremony. Now the district is facing legal action.
Gracie Belle Ray is an enrolled member of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, according to a tort claim filed last month. The Lincoln High School student wanted to wear an item at graduation that she’d been gifted by the Nisqually Tribe: a sacred, black-and-red button blanket.
Before she could receive her diploma on June 13, Ray’s principal directed her to leave the regalia behind, per the tort document. Otherwise she wouldn’t be allowed to walk.
That soiled what would have been a joyous occasion, the document states.
“She and her family are suffering from the denial of their Native American identity by a school district that professes inclusion and equality, but failed to acknowledge her right to wear sacred tribal regalia to graduation,” according to the claim.
Other students graduating alongside Ray were wearing items of cultural significance, including sashes, leis, grass skirts and stoles, per the tort.
Attorney Joseph D. Gehrke is representing Ray and her family. He told The News Tribune that they expect to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks.
The school district launched an investigation into the matter and is working to prevent this from happening again, said spokesperson Kathryn McCarthy.
TPS offers its “deepest apologies to Ms. Ray and her family” and takes the issue quite seriously, McCarthy said. She added that the district is aware of the tort claim but declined to provide additional comment on pending litigation.
Ray was the first in her family to graduate high school and receive her diploma, KING 5 reported late last month.
“I didn’t really realize how alone I felt, until after,” she told that outlet. “I’m not crazy. I’m just saying I wanted more people to put my trust in, but because of what happened, I don’t really trust authority too much.”
Ray should have been allowed to graduate in her button blanket under state law. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Right to Tribal Regalia Act in March 2020.
The law seeks to protect Native students against assimilation by ensuring they can wear culturally significant items at graduation ceremonies.
In addition to alleging discrimination, Ray’s tort claim argues negligence.
TPS is responsible for making sure its employees are informed of the rights of Indigenous students, the claim states. The principal who improperly told Ray that the button blanket wasn’t allowed has claimed ignorance of the law, but the district is “liable for his negligent training and supervision.”
McCarthy said TPS thoroughly reviewed Ray’s concerns in an internal probe.
The district then sent her a letter detailing its findings, plus plans for action that TPS will complete ahead of the 2024-25 school year’s graduation ceremonies. Such corrective actions include posting a tribal-regalia bulletin on the district’s website and providing staff with training about respecting Native culture at graduation.
“As it relates to the progressive discipline of involved staff,” McCarthy added, “that is not something the district will share in any more detail.”
Ray wasn’t given the chance to advocate for herself, Gehrke said. Instead she was given a last-minute choice: Ditch the blanket right now and celebrate graduation or turn your back on your culture.
There’s a long history of assimilation throughout the United States and North America, he said. European settlers forced Indigenous kids into schools where they were banned from speaking their own language.
The term “assimilation” encompasses a lot, he continued, including the loss of community, religion and connection with one’s background.
“These Indigenous students have been suffering from assimilation for centuries now, and this is unfortunately evidence that it’s still occurring,” Gehrke said. “The refusal to allow Gracie to graduate while wearing tribal regalia to celebrate her heritage, to celebrate her ancestors — that’s just one more example of telling her to be more white.”
Ray and her family have dealt with “immense emotional suffering” as a result of the ordeal, per the tort. They’re seeking unspecified damages such as past and future medical, counseling-related and therapeutic costs, according to the claim — as well as attorneys’ fees and general damages for her acute emotional distress.
Gehrke later said via email that the earliest they can file suit is Dec. 16, 60 days after the school district received a copy of the tort claim.
