National Native American Heritage Month 2023
November is Native American Heritage Month when the United States celebrates the cultures, accomplishments, and contributions of the original peoples of this land and the attributes that make them unique within the fabric of a diverse American society
American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage (AIAN) Month has evolved from its inception, as a week-long celebration in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the week of November 23-30, 1986 as, ”American Indian Week.” Since 1995, every subsequent United States President has issued annual proclamations designating the month of November as the time to celebrate the cultures, accomplishments, and contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990, “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, such as “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month” and the present “Native American Heritage Month” have been issued each year since 1994.
Land Acknowledgements
What is a Land Acknowledgement? A Land Acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.
Call to Action: Share a land acknowledgment in your email signature - to participate in this, update the nation's land you live on.
*It's Native American Heritage Month. While acknowledging the land I reside on is stolen land from the Mohawk, Mohican, and Haudenosaunee Nations is not enough, I am committed to justice, reconciliation, and the liberation of Native peoples.
Learn & Give: Learn about the history of the stolen land you reside on here and donate to the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) to hold governments accountable and protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways.
The Impact of Words
Alaska Native - This term refers to the indigenous people of the area. Native Alaskan is anyone from Alaska (including non-indigenous).
American Indian - Some tribes (and their associated parks) prefer Native American. Use specific tribal name(s) whenever possible, accurate, and appropriate. See also First Nations, tribal names.
First Nation, First Nations - Refers to aboriginal people in Canada who are neither Inuit (people of the Canadian Arctic) nor Métis (descendants of First Nation people who married Europeans). Often used in the plural in the collective sense, as in a program for First Nations youth. The term is widely used in Canada but is not used in the US, except in connection with Métis whose homelands include northwest Minnesota, North Dakota, or other northern states. See also American Indian.
Native American - Use if requested by specific tribes or parks. See American Indian.
Tribal name - Use specific tribal name(s) whenever possible, accurate, and appropriate. Also the preference is to use the singular noun: Navajo, Lakota, Tlingit. See also American Indian. Examples: The Navajo entered Canyon de Chelly about 300 years ago. The Anishinaabek fished in Lake Superior.
Books to Read 📚
Fiction (Identity): The Berry Pickers
Fiction (Intergenerational Trauma & resilience): Betty
Short Story Anthology (Native American Cultural stories & mythologies): Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology
Non-Fiction (relationship to Nature): Braiding Sweetgrass
Non-Fiction (1890 to today): The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present
Non-Fiction (Navajo Code Talkers of WWII): Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
Non-Fiction (Residential Schools - US & CA): Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City
Podcasts 🎧
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SheNative - Fashion, Jewelry, and Accessories
Kotah Bear - Home Decor and Accessories
Eighth Generation - Art & Lifestyle