History
November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of our nation’s first people.
In 1990, a joint resolution was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush declaring November, Native American Indian Heritage Month. Within this joint resolution, Native citizens were recognized as America’s original inhabitants who made essential contributions to both the United States and the world. In addition, Congress acknowledged Natives for their role in assisting the early European visitors to North America and Founding Fathers of the United States.
Terminology
Indigenous: Refers to the descendants of the peoples who inhabited the Americas, the Pacific, and parts of Asia and Africa prior to European colonization.
Native American: Refers to peoples living within what is now the United States prior to European contact.
American Indian/Alaska Native: Refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Books
- Native Americans in History by Jimmy Beason
- Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud
Powwow Day by Traci Sorell
