UNITED STATES — November marks the annual observation of National Native American Heritage Month, intended to provide a platform for Indigenous people in the U.S. to share and honor their culture, traditions and crafts, along with their ways and concepts of life.
This year’s theme for the month-long occasion is “Weaving together our past, present and future,” according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs.
“We will focus on the failed policies of the past with a focus on the Federal Indian Boarding Schools and moving into the present and the work being done to address the intergenerational trauma Native people still face,” the Indian Affairs office writes on its website. “In partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution, we are working to record the lasting impacts of that era and share that information with all Americans.”
President Biden discussed the pain inflicted at the boarding schools in his proclamation of National Native American Heritage Month this year.
“Our Nation’s failed policies of the past subjected generations of Native peoples to cruelty, violence and intimidation,” the proclamation reads. “The forced removal of Native peoples from their homes and ancestral homelands; attempts to assimilate entire generations; and stripping of Indigenous peoples of their identities, cultures and traditions are some of the darkest chapters of our Nation’s history. The trauma and turmoil fundamentally altered their communities. As the first President to visit Indian Country in 10 years, I delivered a national apology for the unspeakable harms caused to Native peoples at Federal Indian Boarding Schools.”
Locally, Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) observed Red Shawl Day on Tuesday, Nov. 19, by draping a red shawl over the park’s south boundary sign in honor of missing and murdered Indigenous women and children.
“Red Shawl Day, Nov. 19, is a time to bring attention to the horrible acts of violence committed against Indigenous peoples, particularly women and children,” GTNP posted to Facebook. “According to the Department of Justice, American Indian and Alaska Native women are missing and murdered at a rate of more than 10 times above the national average. … For more information see the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU): https://www.bia.gov/bia/ojs/missing-murdered-unit.”
At the end of October, the Pretty Shield Foundation’s Lighted Teepees Unity Celebration was held at the Center for the Arts Park, where the Young Sky Nation drum group and hoop dancers performed.
Last year, Jackson’s Town Council voted unanimously to incorporate a land acknowledgment into all town meetings. It names the Nimi’ (Bannock), Niitsitapi (Blackfeet), Apsáalooke (Crow), Newe (Eastern Shoshone), Aaniiih (Gros Ventre), Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) and Hinono’eino (Northern Arapaho) Peoples, recognizing the earliest inhabitants of the Jackson area and their living relatives.
“Rock Your Mocs” week was observed last week across the U.S., and was spotlighted by the National Park Service as a way to acknowledge Native American staff, volunteers and visitors.
According to the U.S. Senate’s history website, the state of New York declared an “American Indian Day” as early as 1916 to acknowledge the contributions and achievements of Indigenous peoples. In 1976, President Gerald Ford proclaimed Oct. 10 to 16 to be “Native American Awareness Week” as part of the country’s bicentennial celebrations. The annual weeklong observation was born in 1986 with “American Indian Week,” repeated annually and morphing into “Native American Indian Heritage Week.” By 1990, the entire month of November was designated as National American Indian Heritage Month.
Native American Heritage Day will be observed nationwide on Friday, Nov. 29.
