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RAPID CITY, SD – Rapid City Area Schools will honor graduating Native American students through a senior honoring and feathering ceremony, an event that recognizes academic achievement while celebrating cultural identity and tradition.
Kit Veit, director of student success for Rapid City Area Schools, said the ceremony marks a significant milestone in a student’s life. “This recognizes our students for their accomplishments, their achievements throughout their educational journey,” Veit said, adding that receiving a feather or plume is “the highest honor that you can receive in your life.”
The ceremony brings together students from across the district’s four graduation groups, allowing all participants to be recognized at one event prior to graduation. This allows students to wear their feather or plume during their individual graduation ceremonies.
Marie Hebert, Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings teacher for the district, explained that feathers and plumes carry deep cultural meaning. “Our feathers and our plumes are given for acts of bravery, courage or significant recognition,” Hebert said, noting that they symbolize leadership and honor within Indigenous traditions.
District leaders say the ceremony has grown in recent years, with 171 Native American students currently on track to graduate, the highest number recorded so far. Veit said the number has steadily increased over the past several years, reflecting continued progress among students representing more than 50 different Indigenous tribes.
The event includes several cultural elements, including smudging, prayers and songs. Veit said smudging, which involves burning sacred medicines such as sage, is used to cleanse the mind, body and spirit and prepare students for the transition into adulthood. “It’s a connection to the creator,” she said, adding that the practice is meant to bring strength and protection.
Prayers and songs are also central to the ceremony, offering guidance and encouragement for students as they move forward. Veit said these elements help maintain balance and connection. “You’re praying for the student’s journey, their path, their well-being,” she said.
The ceremony also reflects a broader cultural and historical significance. Hebert noted that the use of feathers in ceremonies was once outlawed in the late 1800s under federal law, restricting Native religious practices until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 restored those rights. She said continuing the ceremony today is an important way to preserve traditions for future generations.
Community involvement plays a key role in the event. Family members or mentors often take part in tying the feather or plume, symbolizing the passing of knowledge and responsibility to the student. Hebert said the person tying the feather represents characteristics and values the student will carry forward.
The ceremony also includes symbolic elements such as blankets, which honor students in a way that reflects traditional practices. Hebert said the event brings together families, educators and community members to celebrate students and support them as they move into the next stage of life. “It takes all of us,” Veit said. “We aren’t meant to do this alone.”
The feathering ceremony is open to the public and will take place May 21 at The Monument, with a community meal scheduled beforehand at Central High School. Organizers encourage community members to attend and support graduating students.
