Cumberland County Schools holds feather ceremony, affirms state law allowing feathers on graduation tassels; UNC Pembroke awards tuition scholarships

Cumberland County Schools’ Office of Indian Education held a feather ceremony at Grace Creek High School to honor Native American graduates and to present scholarships and ceremonial gifts, officials said.

The event brought together students from 13 tribes in Cumberland County’s graduating class of 87 and included presentations from April Whittemore Locklear, coordinator Candace Revels, and University of North Carolina at Pembroke scholarship staff. Timothy Sampson, director of financial aid and scholarships at UNC Pembroke, told attendees, "Tuition at UNCP is $1,000 per year for in state students. And, The scholarships been awarded tonight covers a full year of tuition."

The ceremony included a formal statement about dress and feather use. Candace Revels, coordinator of the Office of Indian Education, read an updated rule and state law and said that "students who are members of a state or a federally recognized Indian tribe shall be allowed to wear CCS issued or…