Only in America: Native tongue

A teacher punishes a Native American student for speaking a Native American language — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

Native tongue
(Image credit: Pete Saloutos/CORBIS)

A Wisconsin seventh-grader was suspended from a school's basketball team for speaking a Native American language. Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano, Wis., is 60 percent Native American, yet when a teacher heard Miranda Washinawatok, 12, telling a friend how to say "I love you" in the Menominee tongue, the teacher angrily objected, saying, "How do I know you're not saying something bad?" The school has since apologized.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us