My Child’s Teacher Said Native Americans ‘No Longer Exist’ & Gave Her Detention for Saying She’s Native

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Sometimes, the people who are supposed to know the most about a subject are seriously misinformed. This scenario, unfortunately, played out in a Florida school. A teacher recently told her class that Native Americans “no longer exist” – and then gave a student detention for saying she’s Native American.

In late February 2025, a mom took to the r/parenting subreddit to blow off steam. She detailed the disturbing way her daughter was treated at school by her history teacher. In the comments, fellow Reddit users didn’t hold back their opinions.

The mom said her daughter’s teacher claimed Native Americans ‘no longer exist.’

The original poster, or OP, explained that her daughter, 12, is a seventh-grade student in Florida. Currently, her class is learning about Native American history, including the Trail of Tears.

She detailed, “Her teacher ended the lesson yesterday with the statement ‘and that’s why the Natives no longer exist.'”

After the teacher said that, her daughter spoke up.

In response to the teacher’s false claim, the 12-year-old corrected her.

“My daughter was shocked by this, as my daughter and I are Native, we’re members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida,” the OP continued. “My daughter immediately raised her hand and mentioned that she’s native, so Native Americans couldn’t possibly be extinct.”

The teacher gave her detention for saying she was Native American.

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In her thread, the Reddit user said the teacher “got angry, said that my daughter is white, and therefore couldn’t be native.” (The OP pointed out that her mother is white and her child’s father is white, so her daughter “doesn’t look stereotypically Native.”) The teacher then gave the daughter detention for “lying and being disrespectful.”

“As soon as my daughter got in my car after school she started crying about what happened,” the OP shared. “This child has never gotten a detention in her life, and she feels ashamed and embarrassed by how she was treated, and also of course upset by how this teacher clearly invalidates not only our identity but our history.”

The mom also admitted she was “baffled that our education system is so bad in the year 2025 that we have teachers claiming native Americans don’t exist anymore.”

In response, the OP got the principal involved.

The OP set up a meeting with her daughter’s principal to discuss the incident. Thankfully, the principal “fully agreed that this was unacceptable” and said she would talk to the teacher.

“I said that I was going to get the tribe and the ACLU involved if nothing is done,” the OP noted.

Meanwhile, her daughter said she wanted to make a presentation about Seminole history to present to her class, and the teacher and principal thought it was a good idea.

In the comments, Reddit users were livid on behalf of the OP and her daughter.

Fellow Redditors didn’t hold back with their reactions to the situation.

“This was beyond ignorant of the teacher,” one person wrote. “Once you meet with the principal, please let them know you will also be going to the Superintendent and the Board. I’d definitely also tell as many parents as you can.”

Another shared, “Let your daughter know how brave and RIGHT she was to stand up to her teacher. Bravo.”

The commenter added, “Then raise h— with that school. The fact that a teacher would treat your child this way, for speaking up and raising a discussion, is absolutely inappropriate. This person should not be teaching for that reason ALONE.”

“Contact the tribal leaders,” someone else suggested. “I’m sure they’d be happy to send someone to your daughter’s school to prove that they exist. Good God that teacher is ignorant.”