Committee reviews bill to protect Native drum honoring songs at graduations after Hinkley controversy

The Minnesota Senate Education Policy Committee heard testimony on Senate File 1405 on March 3, a bill intended to protect the right of students to include an honoring or traveling drum song at high school graduation ceremonies.

Senator Kunish, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure responds to an incident in which the Hinckley-Finlayson School Board prohibited a drum honoring song at the district’s high school graduation. Kunish said the board’s decision “had negative reverberations through the local community” and described the bill’s intent to ensure cultural expressions tied to Native students’ identity can be included in graduation ceremonies.

Virgil Wind, identified to the committee as chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and a former chair of a local public-school board, testified about impacts in his community. Wind told the committee that Native students comprise about 25% of the student population at Hinckley-Finlayson and described nearly two weeks of peaceful student protests last year after the board’s decision. Wind said the protests were led by students who organized cultural demonstrations to highlight the importance of drumming and honoring songs.

Bella (Isabella) Eubanks, an eleventh-grade student and officer of the Native American Student Association at Hinckley-Finlayson, described organizing a silent student walkout and a peaceful protest after the board banned the honoring song. Eubanks said the ban “caused significant trauma to many Native American students” and that more than half of Native students did not attend school the following day; she testified some students considered dropping out. She urged the committee to approve the bill so future classes would not face similar exclusion.

Witnesses and committee members discussed the limited scope of the bill (Senator Kunish said the draft focuses on graduation ceremonies) and whether language should be broadened to cover other notable school events. Senator Abler and others recommended clarifying that the request is typically for a single honoring song and offered to work with the author to ensure the language is narrow enough to address school concerns about prolonged performances while protecting cultural expression.

After discussion, the committee laid Senate File 1405 over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill. Committee members praised the students’ leadership and said they would work with the author on any technical changes.

Why it matters: supporters said allowing a drum honoring song supports cultural belonging and can improve educational outcomes for Native students by acknowledging cultural identity. Testimony from Mille Lacs Band leaders and a student who organized protests framed the bill as a remedy to local exclusionary decisions.

Next steps: the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus vehicle; the author indicated willingness to refine language on scope and event types.