November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly refered 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 Native people.

101-343 (PDF, 211KB) which authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the month of November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Congress chose the month of the November to recognize the American Indians as this month concluded the traditional harvest season and was …

Native American Day, observed annually on the second Monday in October, celebrates the cultures and contributions of the many Native American tribes. While it is not celebrated in all 50 states, it is recognized in both California and South Dakota and gaining popularity in the rest of the nation.

The week of ceremonies and activities were held in October. In 2017 and 2018 and 2019 President Donald Trump made a Presidential proclamation on the 31st of October of each year that each respective November would be National Native American Heritage Month.

5 ways to honor Native Americans during National Native American Heritage Month

1. Visit a reservation or museum.
2. Attend or host an educational event.
3. ‘Decolonize’ your Thanksgiving dinner.
4. Read the work of Native American authors.
5. Support native-owned businesses and charities.

The so-called first Thanksgiving has been celebrated and taught to schoolchildren as the origin story of what would later become the United States. But many Native Americans say Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the slaughter of millions of Indigenous people and the theft of their lands by outsiders.

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1. Offer recognition and respect.
2. Counter the “doctrine of discovery” with the true story of the people who were already here.
3. Create a broader public awareness of the history that has led to this moment.
4. Begin to repair relationships with Native communities and with the land.

Share. The Art Institute of Chicago is located on the traditional unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also called this area home.

1. Identify. “The first step is identifying the traditional inhabitants of the lands you’re on.
2. Articulate. “Once you’ve identified the group(s) who should be recognized, formulate the statement.
3. Deliver. “Offer your acknowledgment as the first element of a welcome to the next public gathering or event that you host.

When an Indigenous person came to be on the territory of another Nation, even if only passing through, they would announce their presence by saying something like, “l acknowledge that I am on the traditional territory of X Nation.” It was a way of saying: “I acknowledge that you are the Nation responsible for …

How to do a territorial acknowledgment

1. Begin with the acknowledgment. To start things off in a good way, the territorial acknowledgment should be said by the first person who speaks at the event, Dion said.
2. Educate yourself. The key to an acknowledgment is knowing what you’re speaking about, said Dion.
3. Mean it.
4. Don’t be afraid.
5. Practice makes perfect.

Process for land acknowledgements

1. Name which Indigenous territories you are currently on.
2. Explain why you are acknowledging the land.
3. Address the relevance of Indigenous rights to the subject matter of your event or meeting or to your activist work in general.

Do your homework.

1. The Indigenous people to whom the land belongs.
2. The history of the land and any related treaties.
3. Names of living Indigenous people from these communities.
4. Indigenous place names and language.
5. Correct pronunciation for the names of the Tribes, places, and individuals that you’re including.

The word ‘indigenous’ refers to the notion of a place-based human ethnic culture that has not migrated from its homeland, and is not a settler or colonial population. To be indigenous is therefore by definition different from being of a world culture, such as the Western or Euro-American culture.

NARF is an accredited charity that meets the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability. GuideStar has given NARF its gold rating for non-profit accountability.

Today kinnikinnick is a mixture of finely crushed inner bark of the red dogwood and shavings of plug tobacco. The mixture is worked with a mortar with pestle, both mortar and pestle being of wood. This mixture, too, is used today for ceremonial smoking.