Tribal Leader Wearing Headdress Denied Entry to Supreme Court (1)

Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy was barred from U.S. Supreme Court oral argument Oct. 30 because he insisted on wearing the full complement of his traditional tribal regalia, which he said left him feeling “very dehumanized.”

Goudy traveled from Washington State to Washington, D.C., to hear an argument involving a treaty between his tribe and the government.

Court personnel offered multiple rationales for keeping Goudy out of the argument if he wore the headdress, Goudy told Bloomberg Law the day of the argument. Their reasons included concerns that his headdress would obstruct others’ views and that his attire ...