November is Native American Heritage Month. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation.
One of the first proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Reverend Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.
The first American Indian Day in a state was declared in May 1916 by the governor of New York. In Illinois, legislators enacted a similar holiday in 1919.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November National American Indian Heritage Month. Similar proclamations, with variants on the name, such as; Native American Heritage Month, National American Indian, and Alaska Native Heritage Month, have been issued each year since 1994.
The Native American Heritage Month website has an online art exhibition of the works of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Also on the website are a list of virtual events that feature Native American artists and educators that you can join for free.
Native American Heritage Month Reading List
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light by Joy Harjo
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch
Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian at the Will Library. He is currently reading Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King.