A math teacher in California has been placed on leave after footage shared online showed her wearing a headdress and imitating a Native American dance in a classroom, CNN reports.
It is believed that the clip was filmed by one of the students at the school in Riverside, Southern California during a math lesson. The video was then shared on social media by a different person.
The identity of the individual who originally posted the video is not known.
The teacher is seen in the footage donning a headdress containing "feathers", which are made of paper. She dances at the front of the classroom as she chants "SohCahToa" - a made-up word that is widely used to help trigonometry students remember sine, cosine, and tangent.
The educator is also heard making references to a "rock god" and "water goddess."
In a statement released yesterday by the Riverside Unified School District, it was confirmed that the teacher in the video and had been placed on leave pending an investigation. The teacher was not identified by the district.
"These behaviors are completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices," the district said in the statement. "Her actions do not represent the values of our district."
The district also reiterated its commitment to implement "inclusive practices and policies" and said it will be working towards regaining the trust of the school and the wider community.
Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative, an organization that aims to increase the visibility of Indigenous people, referred to the teacher's conduct in the video as "extremely disrespectful and unacceptable."
Echo Hawk said in a statement: "The behavior demonstrated by this California teacher is incredibly harmful to Native youth. We must set a higher standard of training for educators to prevent racism and discrimination from occurring in the classroom - especially by faculty."
The group's founder also said the incident serves as evidence that teachers need cultural competency training and that the teaching of Native American history is inaccurate in schools all over the country.
.jpg_lcBd0E?tr=h-184)
