After 73 days, Native American student allowed to go back to class

May 15, 2003

Aroniakeha Elijah, a 17 year-old junior at Salmon River High School near Plattsburgh, New York, was finally allowed to return to regular classes today. A decision by school officials to allow his return ended a 73 day period in which they confined him to a windowless room for wearing a red headband which signified a rite of passage within his traditional Iroquois religion. The action was taken after Becket Fund attorney Derek Gaubatz and New York attorney Robert Greene met with school officials regarding Aroniakeha's constitutional rights to freely practice his religion.

Earlier this year, when Elijah wore his head-cloth to school, officials regarded it as a violation of their "no bandana" rule, and he was ordered to remove it. When he refused, on grounds that he considered wearing it his religious duty, the school segregated him from other students in a room known as "the box." For more than three months, he received no instruction, homework, or any education. An accomplished athlete and member of the cross country and lacrosse teams, Elijah was suspended for the entire season, jeopardizing any future possibility of college athletic scholarships.

On May 14, 2003, Becket Fund attorney Derek Gaubatz and New York attorney Robert Greene, with whom The Becket Fund had worked previously in Pine Hill Zendo Inc. v. Town of Bedford Zoning Board of Appeals , met with the school board president, the superintendent, the school principal and their attorney. A settlement was quickly worked out in which school officials agreed to allow Elijah to return to his regular classes, receive tutoring to help him make up the three months' work, and wear his red head cloth.

Gaubatz said, "It's a sad day in America when a school sends one of its students into solitary confinement for three and a half months simply for asserting his constitutional rights. But we welcome the school district's decision, in response to our request, to take the first step toward correcting this injustice by allowing Aroniakeha to return to class while wearing his religious headband." Elijah was supported throughout his ordeal by his family, including his grandfather, Jake Swamp, an Iroquois chief.