A teacher in Riverside, California has been placed on leave after a student recorded her bizarre mocking of Native Americans while teaching math to students at John W. North High School.
In the video, that has now gone viral, the teacher, identified online as Candace Reed attempts to explain “Sohcahtoa,” a term used in math to help students memorize specific trigonomic functions, by wearing a headdress of paper feathers and performing for the class.
The teacher, who is white, appears to use an imaginary tomahawk while hopping around the room, chanting and stomping. She also made offensive sounds, mimicking Native American war cries and hopped onto her desk to “summon” a goddess.
The Riverside Unified School District released an official statement regarding the video saying, “A recording of one of our teachers has been widely circulated on social media,” the statement began. “These behaviors are completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices.”
The school district denounced the teacher’s actions, stating it was not representative of the values upheld by the district and confirmed that Reed had been placed “on leave” while an investigation is conducted.
