Native American Heritage Month

2024 USET Native American Heritage Month Messages

November 1, 2024: USET Kickoff's Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) with a reminder that we celebrate NAHM, not just in November, but all year long. Read more.

Week One Theme for NAHM: WE ARE STILL HERE: PERSERVING, REBUILDING, AND REIMAGING - CREATING FUTURE TRIBAL LEADERS

Building Future Tribal Leaders – Close Up and USET/USET SPF Partnership

November 5, 2024: Despite the federal government’s attempts to erase and extinguish our culture as part of the Boarding School policy, in addition to many other federal policies of removal, assimilation, and termination, we persevered, and we are still here. To ensure our continued growth, perseverance, and prosperity as nations and as a people, our youth are a critical component to that future.

To support our youth, we must encourage them to further discover and take ownership of their voice, power, courage, and avenues for contribution. Read this article to learn how the Close Up foundation is creating future Tribal leaders.

 

Toward a New Era in the Tribal Nation–United States Relationship: Re-imagining Nation-to-Nation Diplomacy for the 21st Century

November 7, 2024: From the beginning, the first colonizers and, eventually, the United States sought to take our lands and resources, and began to construct layer upon layer of impediments restricting our sovereign rights and authorities.

USET SPF is advocating for a new era of federal Indian law and policy based on true diplomacy, where we are able to fully exercise our inherent sovereign rights and authorities and receive the full debts owed to us under the trust and treaty obligations, as reflected in our Toward a New Era in the Tribal Nation-United States Relationship: Reimagining Nation to Nation Diplomacy for the 21st Century. Read the full article.

 

Week Two Theme for NAHM: Social Justice

Cultural Heritage Survival and Perseverance: Our Shared Global Human Interest and the Medicine that Heals

November 12, 2024: This Summer our Executive Director, Kitcki Carroll wrote the essay, “Cultural Heritage Survival and Perseverance: Our Shared Global Human Interest and the Medicine that Heals.” He reminds us, “Ours is a story, a lesson to be shared, to teach and enlighten cultures around the world, especially in a moment when the world is lost, and people are searching for answers, purpose, and peace.” Read this article to learn more.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)

November 14, 2024: The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) movement was established to raise awareness, demand justice, and advocate for policy changes to improve reporting, investigation, and support systems for Indigenous victims and their families. The goal of MMIWG is not only to end the violence but also to reclaim and protect the rights, safety, and dignity of Indigenous people in their pursuit of justice and equity.  Learn more about this movement.

Week Three Theme for NAHM: Policy, Legislation and Litigation

Winnebago Appealing District Court Decision Granting Army’s Motion to Dismiss Case Seeking Return of Native Children from Carlisle Indian Boarding School Under NAGRPA

November 19, 2024: There is an important case pending right now in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia called Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. U.S. Dept. of the Army.  Winnebago is fighting for the return of two Native children’s bodies from Carlisle Indian Industrial School under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Read more about this important case and learn about NAHM.

Marshall Plan for Tribal Nations

November 21, 2024: The time is long past due for the United States to honor its promises. We are calling on the United States to make an immediate and significant financial investment in Tribal Nations after years of ignoring its debt. This investment will provide Tribal Nations with a foundation of economic and social stability to support our collective efforts to rebuild our governments so we may grow and prosper. Read how USET SPF is calling on the United States to keep its word and make good on the debts it owes to Tribal Nations and Native people through a Marshall Plan for Tribal Nations and learn more about NAHM.

Week Four Theme for NAHM: Art and Culture

USET/USET SPF Senior Staff's Favorite Podcasts, Television Series, and Films

November 26, 2024: One of the ways to keep celebrating and learning about the lives of Native Americans is to listen to podcasts and watch television and film that speaks to indigenous issues and features Native American speakers, writers, directors, and actors. Read about some of USET/USET SPF senior staff’s favorites and learn more about Native American Heritage Month.

USET/USET SPF Senior Staff's Favorite Books

November 28, 2024: One of the ways to keep celebrating and learning about the lives of Native Americans is to read books by indigenous authors. Read about USET/USET SPF’s favorite books and learn more about Native American Heritage Month.

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

See More

Resources

 

 

Articles

 

 

Events

  • November 1 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Eastern (Hybrid) - Department of Transportation Native American Heritage Month Event will be held in-person at the USDOT Headquarters in DC. If you are not able to join in person, please click on the virtual event link that will be live streaming the event.
  • November 1 at 5:00 pm Eastern (Virtual) - DNC Native Caucus Meeting - Native American Heritage Month 2024. Register.
  • November 1-2 at 10:00 am - 5:00 pm each day - American Indigenous Arts Celebration in Big Cypress will celebrate Seminole and Indigenous art, music, food dance and more!
  • November 1- 17 - “Feathers to Fedoras: An Inside Look at Traditional to Contemporary Native Wear” art exhibit at the Falmouth Art Center will include photographs of different types of regalia from traditional to modern with text panels about the pieces and their cultural significance to the tribe. In addition, the exhibit includes a range of regalia items, including headwear and jewelry made by local members of the Wampanoag Tribe and others.
  • November 1-30 - The Smithsonian’s National Museum celebrates Native American Heritage Month with numerous events honoring American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian veterans. Visitors can celebrate the diversity and contributions of these Native cultures with a variety of free public events in Washington, D.C., New York City, and online. Programs include festivals, performances, talks and family activities.
  • November 11 - DC | Honoring Native Veterans 10:00 am - 5:30 pm Eastern
  • November 19 - USDA NAHM Celebrations:
    • 12:00 pm Eastern - Indigenous Foods Cook-Off. USDA Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) welcomes aspiring chefs and food lovers to join an “Indigenous Foods Cook off” on the Whitten Patio. Many Tribal communities traditionally incorporated lime and wood ash to enhance the nutritional benefits of corn meal. This nixtamalization increased the availability of B vitamins, calcium, fiber, and iron in their diet. OTR will provide the "secret ingredient" of corn meal to all volunteer chefs. Participate in the cook-off by registering ahead of time.
    • 1:00 pm Eastern - NAHM Observance. Join Deputy Secretary Torres Small to discuss the impact of law on USDA policy and culture. The Office of Tribal Relations and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights will co-host the NAHM observance held on the Whitten Patio and virtually via Zoom.
    • 2:30 pm Eastern - Tribal Innovation Awards. OTR will host its second annual Nation to Nations Tribal Innovations Award Ceremony. This awards ceremony will take place on the Whitten Patio and virtually via Zoom.
  • November 22-29- 2024 Native Cinema Showcase  (online)
  • November 25 at 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern - Native American Heritage Month Program in Partnership with Arlington National Cemetery and the National Museum of the American Indians is an online program that will showcase a panel of experts that will discuss the American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and Yankton Dakota writer, educator, and political activist Zitkala-Sa’s role in its passage. The program will also cover citizenship through military service and Native Americans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Acting Chief Operating Officer Jay Trainer from the National Archives will provide opening remarks; participating on the panel will be Rose Buchanan from the National Archives, Rachelle Pablo from the National Museum of the American Indian, and Steve Carney from Arlington National Cemetery. Amber Forrester from the National Archives will serve as moderator.
  • November 28-29 - The Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ 52st annual Thanksgiving Pow Wow will be held Nov. 22-29, 2024 on the Pow Wow Grounds in Poarch. The Pow Wow is held to celebrate the cultural heritage and rick tradition of the PBCI. The event is two days filled with dance and drumming competitions, unique crafts from local artisans, barbecue, fire-roasted corn, buffalo burgers, fried chicken and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. General admission is $10. Two-day wrist band is $15. Read more.

 

 

Initiatives, Calls to Actions and Educational Tools

 

 

News

 

 

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"(1984) and "The Round House" (2013) by Louise Erdrich.
  • “Medicine Trail:  The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon” by Melissa Jayne Fawcett (2000)
  • “The Mighty Red” by Louis 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” playscript 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

 

 

Videos

Television and Films

 

The 574 Federally Recognized Tribal Nations