Each day, we celebrate the achievements, impact, and contributions of our Native American and Indigenous community. Throughout the month of November, we hope this guide serves as a valuable resource to learn more about the Native American and Indigenous community and provide ways for you to connect with local organizations and attend local programming.
November is National Native American Heritage Month. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American and Alaska Native communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation. This November and every month, we celebrate the remarkable diversity, culture and heritage of the Indigenous communities who deeply enrich the quality and character of Turtle Island, in what we now know as the United States of America.
CU Boulder's Land Acknowledgement: The University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado’s flagship university, honors and recognizes the many contributions of Indigenous peoples in our state. CU Boulder acknowledges that it is located on the traditional territories and ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute and many other Native American nations. Their forced removal from these territories has caused devastating and lasting impacts. While the University of Colorado Boulder can never undo or rectify the devastation wrought on Indigenous peoples, we commit to improving and enhancing engagement with Indigenous peoples and issues locally and globally.
For almost one hundred years, Americans, both Native American and settlers, have urged that there be a permanently designated place on the calendar to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, and cultural and historical legacy of the original inhabitants of what is now the United States and their descendants: the American Indian and Alaska Native people.
The first time an American Indian Day was formally designated in the U.S. may have been in 1916 when the governor of New York fixed the second Saturday in May for his state's observance. Several states celebrated the fourth Friday in September as American Indian Day. In 1919, the Illinois state legislature enacted a bill doing so. In Massachusetts, the governor issued a proclamation, following a 1935 law, naming the day that would become American Indian Day in any given year.
In 1968, California Governor Ronald Reagan signed a resolution designating the fourth Friday in September as American Indian Day. In 1998, the California State Assembly enacted legislation creating Native American Day as an official state holiday.
In 1989, the South Dakota state legislature passed a bill proclaiming 1990 as the "Year of Reconciliation" between American Indian and White citizens. According to that act, South Dakota Governor George S. Mickelson designated Columbus Day as the state's American Indian Day, making it a state-sanctioned holiday.
For more information about state designations for American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native American heritage observations or celebrations, contact the state(s) you are interested in directly.
The 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the western hemisphere in 1492 was an occasion marked by national and local celebrations. However, for Native people, it was not a celebratory occasion.
Congress acknowledged their concerns regarding the Columbus Quincentennial by enacting Senate Joint Resolution 217 Pub. L. No. 102-188, which designated 1992 as the "Year of the American Indian." It was signed by President George H.W. Bush on December 4, 1991. According to that act, President Bush issued on March 2, 1992, Proclamation 6407 announcing 1992 as the "Year of the American Indian."
The American Indian response to the anniversary was marked by public protests. Yet, it also was seen by many in the Indigenous community as a unique, year-long opportunity to hold public education events, commemorations of ancestral sacrifices and contributions to America, and celebrations recognizing the survival of Native peoples over five centuries.
In 1976, the United States bicentennial year, Congress passed a resolution authorizing President Ford to proclaim a week in October as "Native American Awareness Week." On October 8, 1976, he issued his presidential proclamation doing so. Since then, Congress and the President have observed a day, a week, or a month in honor of the American Indian and Alaska Native people. While the proclamations do not set a national theme for the observance, they allow each federal department and agency to develop ways of celebrating and honoring the Nation's Native American heritage.
National American Indian Heritage Month had its origins in 1986 when Congress passed Pub. L. No. 99-471 authorizing and requesting the President to proclaim the week of November 23-30, 1986, as “American Indian Week.” As directed by Congress, President Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5577 External in November 1986 proclaiming the first American Indian Week.
In 1990, Congress passed Pub. L. No. 101-343, 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 November to recognize the American Indians, as this month concluded the traditional harvest season and was generally a time of thanksgiving and celebration for American Indians. President George H.W. Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 6230 External, which paid tribute to the rich history and culture of the American Indian tribes. In 1991, Congress passed Pub. L. No. 102-123, which authorized and requested that the President proclaim the months of November 1991 and 1992 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Subsequently, Congress passed Pub. L. No. 103-462, which authorized the President to proclaim November 1993 and 1994 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.”
Between 1995 and 2022, U.S. Presidents issued annual proclamations designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month. These proclamations celebrate the contributions of the American Indians and urge the people of the United States to learn more about the Indigenous cultures of Turtle Island.
Read more at the Library of Congress's National American Indian Heritage Month Guide here.
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