A Riverside high school teacher has been placed on leave after a viral video recorded by a student showed her hollering and dancing around a classroom in a faux feathered headdress, sparking outrage from the Native American community, school officials and local politicians.
The video, which was posted online on Wednesday, shows the teacher in a fake feather headdress, chanting a mnemonic device — “Sohcahtoa,” often used in math courses to remember trigonometric functions — while stomping around the classroom and making chopping motions. The video has more than 3.7 million views on Twitter and hundreds of reactions on Instagram.
The Riverside Unified School District released a statement on Thursday, saying the teacher’s actions “do not represent the values of our district.”
“These behaviors are completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices,” the district said in a statement.
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