Tipiziwin Tolman, a Dakota and Lakota student from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, says a flight attendant on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Vancouver told her to remove the medicine pouches she wore around her neck or leave the plane.
Tolman was traveling to a First Nations Language Keepers conference in Saskatoon. She told CBC News the attendant said passengers could not wear anything around their necks during the flight. Tolman pointed out that the attendant was wearing a scarf and asked to see the airline’s policy. According to Tolman, the attendant replied that she was working and Tolman was a passenger, and told her she could deplane.
Tolman said she had worn the pouches through airport security and on previous flights without being asked to remove them. She wears them for protection. Made of deer hide and tied with a leather string, the pouches contain íŋyaŋ wóawaŋyaŋke, or protection rock, and she said she rarely takes them off.
Tolman said she felt humiliated and chose to remove the pouches rather than risk missing the rest of her trip. She held them in her hand during the flight. She later contacted Alaska Airlines customer care; Tolman said the airline apologized and offered her a $50 U.S. credit.
In a statement to CBC Indigenous, Alaska Airlines said it reviewed the incident and acknowledged Tolman did not receive the standard of care and service the airline expects to provide. The airline said it was addressing the matter internally and reinforcing safety policies with the crew members involved.
Tolman said she supports cultural competency training for airline crew members. She said respectful communication could have changed how the interaction unfolded, and that Indigenous passengers should not be singled out or treated without dignity.
The article also notes that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has guidance for screening Indigenous cultural, sacred, or religious items, including hand screening by request. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority says its screening officers are instructed to work with passengers so sacred or spiritual items are handled with sensitivity and respect.
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