Harvard Law Program Joins Native American Hair Cutting Lawsuit Against Cody Kilgore Schools

April 15, 2022, 11 a.m. ·

two adults and two children walking away down a road.
These Lakota parents cross the border to drop off their children at school. The family switched to a South Dakota school. (Photo courtesy of ACLU of Nebraska)

Listen To This Story

A Harvard Law program will join the ACLU of Nebraska as counsels in a lawsuit against Cody Kilgore Unified Schools – a suit that stems from cutting Native American children’s hair.

A Cody Kilgore employee allegedly cut two children’s hair for a lice check without their parents’ permission in spring 2020. The family, members of the Lakota tribe, believe hair is a sacred symbol.

A year later, the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of the family – alleging first amendment violations. The lawsuit caught the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic's attention.

“We are proud to team up with the ACLU of Nebraska on this important case," said Josh McDaniel, the clinic's director, in a statement. "As a Clinic, we are committed to protecting the religious rights and traditions of people of all faiths — especially those with misunderstood or marginalized beliefs.”

McDaniel and another attorney will serve as co-counsels on the case, according to a news release from the ACLU of Nebraska. The Harvard clinic provides law students an opportunity to all pro bono, or free, legal work on First Amendment religious freedom cases.

The lawsuit remains in the discovery phase – where both sides share evidence and other information.