GG Voice Heritage Spotlight: Native American Heritage Month [US]
National Native American Heritage Month 2022
"It does not require many words to speak the truth." - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce
Explore Google’s Arts & Culture page for 10 ways to celebrate Native American Heritage Month
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.
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Where to shop
120 Businesses owned by Native American Women - from artists to fashion and beauty brands to restaurants & food. Check out this guide and let’s celebrate (and shop) the incredible art, beauty, services, writing, food, and fashion Native American women have created.
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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 Americans. 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.
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Ways to celebrate through art exploration
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Books to read
There, There by Tommy Orange
A multi-generational relentlessly paced story about violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power, dislocation and communion, and the beauty and despair are woven into the history of a nation and its people
Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah A. Miranda
This beautiful and devastating book--part tribal history, part lyric and intimate memoir--should be required reading for anyone seeking to learn about California Indian history, past and present. Deborah A. Miranda tells stories of her Ohlone Costanoan Esselen family as well as the experience of California Indians as a whole through oral histories, newspaper clippings, anthropological recordings, personal reflections, and poems. The result is a work of literary art that is wise, angry, and playful all at once, a compilation that will break your heart and teach you to see the world anew.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubeshig Rice
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles.
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga
Over the span of ten years, seven high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave their reserve because there was no high school there for them to attend. Award-winning journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this northern city that has come to manifest, and struggle with, human rights violations past and present against aboriginal communities.
Lakota Women by Mary Crow Dog
Originally published in 1990, Lakota Woman was a national bestseller and winner of the American Book Award. It is a unique document, unparalleled in American Indian literature, a story of death, of determination against all odds, of the cruelties perpetuated against American Indians, and of the Native American struggle for rights. Working with Richard Erdoes, one of the twentieth century's leading writers on Native American affairs, Brave Bird recounts her difficult upbringing and the path of her fascinating life.
Join us in celebrating the rich culture, heritage, and accomplishments of the US Native American people!