For more than a century , Native American Heritage Month has evolved from a sidereal day to honorIndigenousrights to a monthlong celebration of cultures andhistory . The origins of the month began in the other 20th century with Dr. Arthur Caswell Parker , who called on Americans to reflect on Native American experiences . Today , the memorial takes mod forms , from notice the force displacement of Native people to decolonizing Thanksgiving dinner party . Here ’s what to eff .
1. Today, nearly 4 million Americans identify exclusively as American Indian or Alaska Native.
accord tothe 2020 U.S. Census , 3.7 million American name as only American Indian or Alaska Native , the category term listed on Census form . The Census Bureau contrive that the American Indian and Alaska Native universe ( alone or merge with other racial group ) will top 10.1 million by 2060 .
As of 2022 , there are 324 American Native American reservation and 574 federally recognise kin group in the United States that have survived centuries of genocide and displacement to form the vibrant community they are today . States with thehighest proportionsof Native residents include Alaska , Oklahoma , Arizona , New Mexico , and South Dakota .
2. A Native American heritage commemoration was proposed in the early 20th century.
One of the earliest advocates for aboriginal American right wasArthur Caswell Parker , a Seneca archeologist , historiographer , and director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences in New York . He co - founded theSociety of American Indiansin 1911 , which advocated for Native Americans to be granted U.S. citizenship . Parker also successfully pushed the Boy Scouts to concur a “ First Americans Day ” from 1912 to 1915 .
Building on this advancement , Red Fox Skiukusha ( also known as Red Fox James ) , a Blackfeet Nation extremity , rode 4000 miles from Montana to Washington , D.C. , topetitionfor an “ Amerindic Day ” in 1914 . He spent the next year traveling to pucker regulator ’ signatures in support of citizenship for Native Americans and a internal twenty-four hour period of acknowledgement . U.S.-born Native Americans were granted citizenship in 1924 .
3. Individual states enacted their own Native American heritage celebrations.
From the early 1900s to the 1990s , official celebrations of aboriginal American heritage go from being one day , toone week , to one - month personal matters . Several province enacted single celebrations in September to record Native American history until the motility gainednational prominencein the 1970s .
In 1976 , Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 209 to allow PresidentGerald R. Fordto hold October 10 through October 16 as “ Native American Awareness Week . ” PresidentRonald Reagandeclared May 13 , 1983 “ American Indian Day , ” succeed by “ Native American Week ” from November 23 to November 30 in 1986 , which also acknowledged European coloniser ’ genocide of Native Americans . The interior week of celebration carry on each year through 1989 .
4. George H.W. Bush proclaimed November for Native American heritage celebrations in 1990.
The hebdomad was extended to a month when President George H.W. Bush declared November “ National American Indian Heritage Month ” in 1990 . The name has changed throughout the years , and some have purpose including Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians in the prescribed designation . Since 1995 , each Chief Executive — from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden — has proclaimed November as a month to keep aboriginal American cultures , languages , and history [ PDF ] .
5. Each year, Native American Heritage Month has a distinct theme.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs coif the tone for each twelvemonth ’s celebration . base for the month have included “ celebrate Our Past , Creating Our Future ” in 2002 , “ Pride in Our Heritage With Gratitude to Our Elders ” in 2009 , and “ Serving Our hoi polloi , Serving Our Nations : Honoring Those That serve Our Country ” in 2012 . The theme for 2023 is “ Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity . ”
6. There are plenty of ways to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
aboriginal American Heritage Month is celebrate differently across the area . Rock Your Mocs , plunge in 2010 , is anannualweek - retentive event in which Native Americans honor their culture by wearing moccasins or a turquoise ribbon to work or school . Others hold out red on Red Shawl Day to bring tending to missing and murdered autochthonal woman . Some mass attend theNational Day of Mourning(on Novermber 23 this class ) online or in mortal in Plymouth , Massachusetts , site of the English settlers ’ arrival in 1620 . These events spread awareness through hashtags and content on social sensitive .
Native and non - Native individuals also fete Native American Heritage Month by confab museum , attending performances or rallies , donating to Native - owned patronage and charities , andreading Native American authors . you’re able to also read about theoriginal stewardsof the land where you live anddecolonizeyourThanksgiving repast .
7. Native American Heritage Month is an opportunity to learn about Indigenous history.
Native American story is preserved in governmentarchives , hereditary places , museum , and by the mass today . TheNational Park Servicemanages sites of ethnical significance , such as Alabama’sRussell Cave , boast 10,000 years of human habitation ; and theTrail of TearsNational Historical Trail , which traces the migration of kin forcibly removed from their Southeast U.S. country of origin in 1838 and 1839 . The Smithsonian’sNational Museumof the American Indian locations in Washington , D.C. , and New York City also preserve autochthonic crafts and lifeways .
This level originally ran in 2021 ; it has been updated for 2023 .
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