Colorado medical team cut 65-year-old Lakota man's hair without permission, family says

A police investigation is underway after the family of a Lakota man said staff members at a Colorado hospital cut the 65-year-old’s hair without permission.

Members of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital “lied” about having a video that allegedly showed the medical center was not at fault for cutting Arthur Janis’ hair, a regent of the University of Colorado said.

Arthur Janis is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, for whom hair is sacred from the moment of birth. It is significant in many sacred rites — such as the Keeping of the Soul, Arthur Janis’ brother, Keith Janis, said.

“Each of the strands is the power of you and represents your power as a Lakota individual,” he said. “It’s also a memorial to our loved ones that we’re leaving behind. … In any part of the hemisphere here, Indigenous people’s hair is sacred to them.”

Keith Janis contends that workers at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital neglected “basic hygiene” for his brother, whom he says suffered a stroke at the facility, leaving him unable to comb or wash his own hair.

Hospital spokesperson Dan Weaver said members of Arthur Janis’ care team had to trim his hair to address a medical concern, and said the hospital conducted its own “extensive” investigation into the allegations.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/colorado-medical-team-cut-65-year-old-lakota-mans-hair-permission-fami-rcna128898

I was taught in nursing school that you do not EVER cut a patient's hair without the patient's or the family's permission. It's considered assault if you do. There are shampoo caps that make it possible to wash a patient's hair and then you can rinse and dry it. I know. I've done it.