CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The simple actions last year of Evanston Township High School senior Nimikii Curley sparked an impactful conversation and led in new laws protecting Native American history and culture.
Curley was barred from walking at his school’s 2022 graduation ceremony after he refused to remove his Native American regalia from his graduation cap. The school cited rules against any additional apparel or adornment at graduation.
In a recent episode of the Looped In: Chicago podcast, host Arielle Raveney examines how Curley’s decision had a legislative ripple effect and exposed the challenges Native Americans face in an urban environment like the Chicago area.
This year Governor JB Pritzker signed into law three bills that he called “a step forward in rebuilding generations of harm.”
The first law is the Human Remains Protection Act, which establishes a procedure for encountering Native remains and returns them to Native American nations. The second prohibits schools from banning students from wearing their traditional regalia as graduation attire, and the third law mandates Native American history be taught in Illinois public schools.
Marne Smiley with the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and facilitator for the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC) told WBBM regalia isn’t just about tradition.
“It's representation of who we are and where you come from,” Smiley said. “This young man up in Evanston tried to reflect some of his history and reflects some of his deep culture that his entire family is very committed to.”
State representatives’ conversations with CAICC made the new laws possible, but Smiley admitted the progress does not wipe away American Indians’ past suffering and current struggles.
“It's unfortunate that our culture still is misunderstood and misrepresented in a lot of ways,” said Smiley. “When I look at the history of how we even got here…It's a long history of people who had to really, really go through a lot of things, a lot of suffering, a lot of unfortunate events to get me to where I am.”
If non-natives in Illinois have learned anything from the passing of these bills, it’s that this is just the start of undoing centuries of laws and practices that have taken away the autonomy and voices of Native people.
“I think if there is a way for non-Native people to help Native people it would be to make sure we are at the table for decision making,” Smiley said. "The fact we had to write a bill to make sure that someone can wear the regalia is Just honestly, it's a little absurd.”
Smiley told WBBM she has hope for American Indians moving forward.
“Our existence is our resistance, but I want it to be more than that. I want to thrive.”
To hear the full episode about Native Americans living in an urban environment, be sure to find Looped In: Chicago on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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