‘Difficult decision’: University Director forced to take his tribal affiliation and pronouns out of his email signature

John Little, a Native person who works at the University of South Dakota, said that he was forced to remove his tribal affiliation and his gender pronouns from his University email signature. The University said Little had violated a state Board of Regents policy concerning communications and branding.

Little was threatened with termination for his email signature and said he's "deeply disappointed" in the University.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Little said he received an email on March 13 from University administrators telling him that including his tribal affiliation and pronouns in his email signature is in violation of a new South Dakota Board of Regents policy. Little works as the Director of Native Recruitment and Alumni Engagement at the University and is affiliated with the Standing Rock Dakota reservation.

He said he was forced to remove the line "Standing Rock Dakota - he.him.his." from his signature.

A Board of Regents is a committee of University officials that manages schools. The South Dakota Board of Regents oversees eight institutions in the state, including the University of South Dakota.

The policy Little said he was told he violated—1.7.6—is part of the Board's communication and branding manual. Its purpose is to "create standards and expectations for institutional communications and brand management to preserve and protect a cohesive message and image."

As per the policy, the contact information University employees can make available to the public is limited to their name, job title, email, address, phone number, and links to the University's website.

"Inclusion of information, graphics, or links not listed... is prohibited," the policy states. "Failure of an employee to adhere to the requirements of this policy may result in discipline of the employee."

A handful of states have passed laws about the use of gender pronouns in schools: In Florida, teachers and students are prohibited from discussing gender pronouns. In Kentucky, teachers are not required to use the preferred gender pronouns of their students.

However, there isn't much legal precedent concerning the inclusion of pronouns in employee email signatures. In 2022, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an advice memorandum on the case of an Ohio transwoman who was fired for refusing to remove her pronouns from her email signature. The NLRB sided with the woman and ruled she should file a complaint regarding her termination.

For including his pronouns and tribal affiliation in his signature, Little said he was threatened with discipline.

"In this written warning," Little said of the email he received from administrators, "it was stated that if I did not take out my tribal affiliation and pronouns to comply with 1.7.6, I would face suspension from USD (with or without pay) and then there would be a decision made about termination."

If suspended, Little said he was also told he would not be allowed to attend public events at the University.

Little tweeted that he ultimately removed his tribal affiliation and pronouns from his email signature—which he called a "difficult decision"—and now includes them in the body of every email he sends. Administrators have told him this action "will not be challenged" and that they will "have a conversation with the Board of Regents about including tribal affiliations" in email signatures.

"[I'm] sad to realize that South Dakota continues to limit how we can identify ourselves," Little tweeted. "I hope that USD and the BOR will reconsider their policies' impact on Native staff members and amend Policy 1.7.6."

In an Instagram post about the situation, Little said he was "deeply disappointed" in the University.

"This is an institution that I have sacrificed time and energy to support," Little wrote in his post's caption. "They did not hesitate to provide me with a permanent written letter to my record and with the threat of termination for using my tribal affiliation and pronouns in my signature."

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