OKLAHOMA CITY — Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma vetoed Senate Bill 429 which would have made it easier for Native American students to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies.
The bill, which passed the House and Senate, states that a student "may wear tribal regalia during the school’s official graduation ceremonies" and allows governing groups of institutions to specify the garments, jewelry, or object that they find "will endanger the safety of a student or others or interfere with graduation ceremonies."
According to an opinion from 2019 by Michael Hunter, then attorney general of the state, tribal regalia should be considered protected under the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Gov. Stitt wrote in his veto of the bill that "school districts or institutions should be able to set the dress code" for their formal events. Furthermore, he claims "the legislature cannot pass special laws regulating school districts applicable to one person or class of persons." This is according to Article V, section 46 of the Oklahoma constitution.
"Should this bill become law, the proverbial Pandora's box will be opened for other groups to go over the heads of local superintendents and demand special favor to wear whatever they please at a formal ceremony," Stitt said.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. issued a statement urging the legislature to override the governor's veto.
"With this legislation, Governor Stitt had an opportunity to support religious freedom and families honoring their kids' high school accomplishments. Instead, he's chosen more division and insults to his Native American constituents," Hoskin says in the statement.
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