Native American Cultural Month  

About Native American Heritage Month

Information courtesy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S., has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose.

One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the "First Americans" and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.

The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed.

The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919. Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day we observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday.

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including "Native American Heritage Month" and "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month") have been issued each year since 1994.

The theme for this year's heritage month is "Celebrating Tribal Nations: America's Great Partners."

courtesy of http://www.loc.gov/topics/nativeamericans/about/

In the News: Native Americans & The Longest Walk 2008

Week of July 14, 2008

News Item: Last Friday, thousands gathered in Washington, D.C. after completing an 8,000 mile cross-country walk that began over five months ago. During the “Longest Walk 2008,” participants marched in support of “environmental and sacred sites protection, cultural survival, youth empowerment and Native American rights.” Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, was one of the event’s organizers. The original “Longest Walk” took place in 1978.

Native Americans range from North America, Central America and South America.

They represent the indigenous peoples of these regions, with many of them leaving relics, cities and traditions which continue to be excavated, explored and reborn.

Who are indigenous peoples? Some of the better known groups include:

(Researchers will also find great resources in our collections!)

Florida Atlantic University will host its celebration of Native American Indian Heritage Month with a series of events taking place at FAU’s Boca Raton, Davie and Jupiter campuses. 

Native American Indian Heritage Month is sponsored by FAU’s Division of Student Affairs and co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the South Florida Storytelling Project, Student Government BSUMP and Dr. Enid Conley, an FAU alumna.

Click to see the Native American Heritage schedule of events for all campuses.