Ojibwe song played outside northern Minnesota graduation after school board removed it from ceremony
HINCKLEY, Minn. — A familiar sound was missing at one high school graduation ceremony on Friday evening.
Last week, the Hinckley-Finlayson school board voted to not allow a traditional Ojibwe song at its graduation ceremony. The Ojibwe Traveling Song is meant to symbolize the transition from high school to what's next.
The school has a large Indigenous population, and in the weeks leading up to graduation, an online petition in favor of returning the song to graduation garnered more than 2,000 signatures. On May 15, more than 50 students gathered outside the high school demanding a reversal of the school board's decision.
Despite the students' efforts, graduation went on as planned on Friday evening with no drumming. However, the song was played at a gathering in the parking lot.
"This is our land, occupied since before this was a state, and there's no reason that our ceremonies should not be included in the entire ceremony for this school's graduation," said Niiyo Gonzales, commissioner of education for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
The district said it was eliminating all extra-curricular student group presentations at the graduation. Gonzales called the decision embarrassing.