Race & Culture

Indigenous Affairs

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Dozens rally outside Noble County school following Ponca student leaving class with hair cut

KOSU | By Sarah Liese

Published September 16, 2024 at 5:47 AM CDT

Activists raised awareness about a 7-year-old Ponca boy whose hair was cut during school in north-central Oklahoma.

A 7-year-old autistic boy named Asiah returned home from school with his bangs cut. Although a school investigation concluded he cut his hair in the classroom, his mother disagrees.

About 50 people of varying ages united in the parking lot outside Frontier Public Schools in Red Rock to raise awareness about Asiah’s hair being cut unexpectedly during school.

“I am the voice of my son and always will be until the day I die,” Asiah’s mother, Rachelle Plumley, said during the rally.

Asiah, a Ponca citizen, is nonverbal. His mother described him as a firecracker with an infectious smile.

When he came home from school on Aug. 21, that smile had turned into a befuddled expression. The front of his hair had been cut into bangs.

“He was just looking at us so confused like he didn't know it was wrong,” Plumley said, describing that afternoon. “He was just confused, looking at us, hugging and comforting us. Like we were hurting.”

Plumley explained his haircut disturbed her as a mother and a Comanche woman. She was taught that hair represents spirit and should only be cut in mourning when someone special has walked on.

“Cutting his hair ruined his beautiful hair,” she said. “Not only that, but broke his spirit.”

An investigation led by a school resource officer determined that Asiah cut his hair himself, a finding Frontier Public Schools Superintendent Erron Kauk stands behind.

“There was misinformation about a teacher or a staff member cutting a student's hair,” Kauk said. “That never happened.”

But Plumely and others at the rally questioned the school’s findings because Asiah has been known to fight his hair being combed or washed.

“The school, the teacher in this written statement have admitted no one saw him do it,” said American Indian Movement member Cetan Sa Winyan during the rally.

Kauk admitted fault on the school’s part for not notifying Asiah’s parents immediately following the incident, and expressed a plan to prevent another mistake like that from happening again.

“There's some things we can do better,” Kauk said. “As far as just storage of scissors, [we will] try to keep students from gaining access when they're not supervised.”

Kauk also said cultural ignorance is not to blame for the recent mistake because faculty are trained annually on cultural awareness.

As for Plumely, she said she plans to continue advocating for justice for her son, which includes trying to get cameras installed in her son’s classroom — an extra precaution Kauk said is a possibility.