Math Teacher on Leave After Stereotyping Native Americans With ‘Tomahawk Chop’

A math teacher in California probably should’ve just stuck to a more traditional curriculum. The teacher at John W. North High School in Riverside has been placed on leave after being filmed wearing a makeshift stereotype of a Native American headdress while in class. Making matters worse, the teacher attempted to do a ceremonial march around the room, performed a spiritual prayer on her desk, and did a tomahawk chop with her arms in front of students. One student was so seemingly embarrassed that they put their head down on their desk as the teacher paraded around the class.

It’s unclear what any of this has to do with math, but the video has gone viral after being posted to Instagram on Oct. 20. A student, who identifies as Native American, filmed the teacher’s unusual form of teaching. With the approval of the student’s family, Native American activist Akalei Brown said that she shared the video so that people “could have a small glimpse into the type of abuses Native children face in U.S. schools everyday.”