Native American Heritage Month

2025 Native American Heritage Month: Roots, Resilience, and Reclamation

During Native American Heritage Month, we honor the enduring legacy, strength, and sovereignty of Native peoples across Turtle Island—and reaffirm our commitment to recognizing and uplifting their contributions every day of the year. “Roots, Resilience, and Reclamation” celebrates the deep cultural foundations of Indigenous Nations, the resilience that has carried generations through centuries of challenge and change, and the powerful reclamation of identity, land, language, and lifeways happening today. Through stories, art, activism, and community, we uplift Native voices and recognize that the journey of reclamation is both a return and a resurgence — grounded in ancestral knowledge and moving boldly into the future.

 

USET Featured in USA Today Native American Heritage Month Special Edition

We are excited to share that the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) organization is featured in the USA Today Native American Heritage Month Special Edition! This national feature highlights USET’s ongoing work to strengthen Tribal sovereignty, promote the health and wellness of our communities, and advance the visibility of Tribal Nations across Indian Country.

This recognition reflects the collective impact of our member Tribal Nations and the dedicated efforts of USET staff in advancing our mission.

The USA Today NAHM Special Edition is available in print and online throughout November. We encourage you to read and share the feature to help celebrate and elevate the voices of Indian Country during Native American Heritage Month.

 

USET Economic Development Director Featured on Podcast

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Rebecca Naragon joined the Wondr Nation podcast to discuss her role as USET’s Economic Development Director. Her conversation with Wondr Nation VP of Marketing Strategy and Operations Dyani Marvel highlights the power of economic storytelling and growth and innovation in Tribal industries. Rebecca provides valuable insights on the impacts of supporting Native entrepreneurs and Tribal enterprises, while emphasizing the importance of community development.

Wondr Nation, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s newest venture, is an online gaming entertainment company focused on using emerging technologies and trends to create new and exciting experiences for players. Level Up with Wondr Nation, is a podcast focused on talking with a diverse group of professionals and players about gaming tech, trends and the new rising stars in the gaming industry.

 

Shop Small, Give Big: Insights into Native Entrepreneurship during Holiday Gifting

USET’s Office of Economic Development is pleased to share a new article exploring how Native-owned small businesses continue cultural roots of gift giving through innovation, creativity, and community care. As part of USET’s broader commitment to Nation rebuilding and advancement, this article illustrates how economic self-determination strengthens sovereignty and local prosperity.

We encourage you to review and share this article with your networks. Promoting awareness of Native entrepreneurship not only uplifts our business owners but also reinforces the collective work of building sustainable, culturally grounded economic systems across USET member Tribal Nations.

Humanity Is Our Greatest Common Denominator

USET/USET SPF Executive Director Kitcki Carroll published an essay on Nov. 13 examining what we can learn from Chief Standing Bear and applying those lessons to the challenges faced today.

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Learn more about USET, Native American history, and Native American Heritage Month

"One can tell a great deal about a country by what it chooses to remember ... One can tell even more by what a nation chooses to forget."  Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Indian Country 101

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On this page

 

 

Articles

 

 

 

 

Initiatives, Calls to Actions and Educational Tools

 

 

Podcasts and Radio Shows

  • All My Relations - Each episode delves into a different topic facing Native people today.
  • “All Tribes – Good Vibes” is the next chapter in Lady G’s radio journey. This program will showcase the fusion of traditional and contemporary sounds within the Indigenous music scene, fostering a space where innovation and tradition thrives side by side.
  • This American Life has done a number of stories centered on Native American issues: Little War on the Prairie, Trail of Tears and A mess to Be Reckoned With.
  • First Voices Radio (formerly First Voices Indigenous Radio) was the first Indigenous radio program in the northeastern U.S. With more than 1 million online hits annually, the program has become known for bringing to the airwaves the experiences, perspectives and struggles of Indigenous peoples worldwide whose exclusion from mainstream, progressive and alternative media is deleterious to the whole of humanity.
  • Media Indigena discusses current Indigenous current affairs.
  • Native America Calling is a live call-in program linking public radio stations, the Internet and listeners together in a thought-provoking national conversation about issues specific to Native communities.
  • Native Edge discuss success stories, small businesses, access to capital, and the vibrant spirit of Indigenous business owners and leaders.
  • Native Opinion - hosted by Michael Kickingbear Johnson (Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation) and David Greyowl (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
  • Native Voice One (NV1) is the distribution division of Anchorage-based Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. Our mission is to serve as a leader in bringing Native voices to Alaska, the nation, and the world. NV1 distributes work from Native and non-Native producers whose programming educates, advocates, and celebrates Indigenous life and values.
  • This Land - Season 2 | How a string of custody battles over Native children became a federal lawsuit that threatens everything
    from tribal sovereignty to civil rights.
  • In Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's, Connie unearths how her family's story fits into one of Canada's darkest chapters: the residential school system.
  • Toasted Sister - is a podcast focused on Native American food.
  • U. Wisc. Law Review Podcast on the Indian Law Restatement by Matthew L.M. Fletcher.

 

 

Arts and Music

2024 Upcoming Native Musicians/Artists

    • Tia Wood
    • Stella Standingbear
    • Medicine Place
    • Stuart James

Native Fashion Designers/Brands

    • Jamie Okuma
    • Rebekah Jarvey
    • Michelle Luna
    • Penny Singer
    • Peshawn Bread (House of Sutai)
    • Courtney Axe (Altrn8v)
    • Jeremy Arviso (Original Landlords)

 

 

Publications

 

 

Recommended Books

  • 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann (2006)
  • Beyond Blood Quantum, edited by Norbert S. Hill Jr. and Megan Minoka Hill (2024)
  • Black Elk Speaks, by J. Neihardt (2014)
  • Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Kimmerer (2013)
  • Brave Are My People: Indian Heroes Not Forgotten, by Frank Waters (1993)
  • Great Speeches by Native Americans, Edited by Bob Blaisdell (2000)
  • Buffalo Tiger: A Life in the Everglades (Indians of the Southeast), by Buffalo Tiger and Harry A. Kersey Jr. (2008)
  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, by Dee Brown (1970)
  • Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko (1977)
  • C.G. Jung and the Sioux Traditions, by Vine Deloria, Jr. (2022)
  • Code Talker, by Chester Nez (2011)
  • A Council of Dolls: A Novel, by Mona Susan Power (2024)
  • Crazy Brave: A Memoir, by Joy Harjo (2013)
  • Crazy Horse Weeps, by Joseph M. Marshall, III (2019)
  • Custer Died For Your Sins, by Vine Deloria, Jr. (1988)
  • Even As We Breathe, by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (2020)
  • Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, by Anton Treuer (2012)
  • Fire Exit, by Morgan Talty (2024)
  • Fire Keeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (2021)
  • Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians out of Existence in New England, by Jean M. O’Brien (2010)
  • Forgotten Founders: How the American Indian Helped Shape Democracy, by Bruce E. Johansen (1982)
  • Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian, by Truman T. Lowe (2008)
  • The Ghost Road, by Matthew L.M. Fletcher (2020)
  • God is Red, by Vine Deloria, Jr. (2023)
  • The Great Vanishing Act, edited by Kathleen Ratteree and Norbert Hill (2017)
  • Heart Berries, by Terese Marie Mailhot (2018)
  • Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, by Jill Ahlberg Yohe and Teri Greeves (2019)
  • House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday
  • How We Became Human, by Joy Harjo (2004)
  • If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving, by Chris Newell (2021)
  • In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, by Walter R. Echo-Hawk and Anaya S. James (2013)
  • Indian Education for All: Decolonizing Indigenous Education in Public Schools, by John P. Hopkins (Crow Creek Sioux Tribe) (2020)
  • Indigenous Children’s Survivance in Public Schools, by Leilani Sabzalian (Alutiiq) (2019)
  • Indigenous Community: Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh Fire, by Gregory A. Cajete (Tewa, Santa Clara Pueblo) (2015)
  • Killers of The Flower Moon, by David Grann (2017)
  • Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century, by Fergus Bordewich (1997)
  • The Life and Traditions of the Red Man: A rediscovered treasure of Native American literature, by Joseph Nicolar (2007)
  • Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, by Renee Sansom Flood (1995)
  • Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich (1984)
  • Medicine Trail:  The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon, by Melissa Jayne Fawcett (2000)
  • The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich (2024)
  • Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, by Drew Hayden Taylor (2010)
  • Native Presence and Sovereignty in College: Sustaining Indigenous Weapons to Defeat Systemic Monsters, by Amanda R. Tachine (2022)
  • The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdich (2021)
  • Of Living Stone: Perspectives on Continuous Knowledge and the Work of Vine Deloria Jr., edited by David E.Wilkins and Shelly Hulse Wilkins (2024)
  • On Our Own Terms: Indigenous Histories of School Funding and Policy, by Meredith L. McCoy (Ojibwe, Turtle Mountain) (2024)
  • Our Way: A Parallel History | An Anthology of Native History, Reflection, and Story, edited by Julie Cajune (2023)
  • Power and Place: Indian Education in America, by Vine Deloria Jr. (Lakota, Standing Rock) and Daniel R. Wildcat (Yuchi, Muscogee Nation) (2001)
  • Red Earth, White Lies, by Vine Deloria, Jr. (1997)
  • Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr., by David E. Wilkins (2018)
  • Rediscovering Turtle Island: A First Peoples' Account of the Sacred Geography of America, by Taylor Keen (2024)
  • The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History (The Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity), by Ned Blackhawk (2024)
  • Reservation Capitalism, by Robert J. Miller (2012)
  • The Round House, by Louise Erdrich (2013)
  • Shutter (A Rita Todacheene Novel), by Ramona Emerson (2023)
  • The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich (2022)
  • The Story of Act 31: How Native History Came to Wisconsin Classrooms, by J.P. Leary (Cherokee/Delaware) (2018)
  • Taino, by José Barreiro (2023)
  • Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation, by Peter Cozzens (2020)
  • There, There, by Tommy Orange (2018)
  • The Truth About Stories, by Thomas King (2008)
  • To Remain an Indian: Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native American Education, by K. Tsianina Lomawaima and Teresa L. McCarty (2006)
  • Unsettling Settler-Colonial Education: The Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model, edited by Cornel Pewewardy, Anna Lees, and Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn (2022)
  • Vanished in Hiawatha: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, by Carla Joinson (2016)
  • Voices of Resistance and Renewal: Indigenous Leadership in Education, edited by Dorothy Aguilera-Black Bear and John W. Tippeconnic (2015)
  • Unsettling Truths, by Mark Charles (2019)
  • Women and Ledger Art: Four Contemporary Native American Artists, by Richard Pearce (2013)
  • Where We Belong, play script by Madeline Sayet (2022)
  • Winter In the Blood, by James Welch (1974)
  • Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country, by Sierra Crane Murdoch (2020)
Children's Books
  • Bowwow Powwow, by Brenda J. Child (2018)
  • Cranberry Day: A Wampanoag Harvest Celebration, by Jannette Vanderhoop (2002)
  • The Elders Are Watching, by David Bouchard and Roy Henry Vickers (2003)
  • Fighting Eagles/Dear and Turtle, by Sesostrie Youchigant to Mary Haas (2011)
  • First Laugh--Welcome, Baby!, by Rose Ann Tahe, Nancy Bo Flood, Jonathan Nelson (2018)
  • Flip and Flop, by Leslie Pearson (2019)
  • Frybread, by Kevin Noble Maillard (2019)
  • Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes, by Wab Kinew and Joe Morse (2018)
  • I Sang You Down from the Stars, by Tasha Spillet-Sumner (2021)
  • An Indigenous Peoples’ History for Young People, by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza (2019)
  • Journey of the Freckled Indians, by Alyssa London (2020)
  • Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story, by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Buntern (2022)
  • Race to the Truth: Colonization and the Wampanoag Story, by Linda Coombs (Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah) (2023)
  • Too Much: My Great Big Native Family, by Laurel Goodluck and Bridget George (2024)
  • Thunder Boy Jr., by Sherman Alexie (2016)
  • We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, by Traci Sorell and Frane Lessac (2021)
  • We Are the Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom (2020)

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Myths and Facts

 

 

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The 574 Federally Recognized Tribal Nations

Federal Register: Indian Entities Recognized by and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs