Native American Heritage Month
"America has not always delivered on its promise of equal dignity and respect for Native Americans. For centuries, broken treaties, dispossession of ancestral lands, and policies of assimilation and termination sought to decimate Native populations and their ways of life. But despite this painful history, Indigenous peoples, their governments, and their communities have persevered and flourished. As teachers and scholars, scientists and doctors, writers and artists, business leaders and elected officials, heroes in uniform, and so much more, they have made immeasurable contributions to our country’s progress.
We must do more to ensure that Native Americans have every
opportunity to succeed and that their expertise informs our Federal
policy-making. That is why my Administration is engaging in meaningful
consultation with Tribal leaders, particularly when it comes to treaty
rights, reserved rights, management and stewardship of Federal lands,
consideration of Indigenous Knowledge, and other policies that affect
Native peoples. That is also why I appointed Secretary Deb Haaland to
be the first-ever Native American Cabinet Secretary, and why more than
50 Native Americans now serve in significant roles across the executive
branch." -President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Indigenous people. Heritage month also is an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise awareness about the unique challenges Indigenous people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.
"NCAI participates in the DC Native Public Relations Roundtable, a group consisting of public relations professionals from national American Indian and Alaska Native organizations and agencies in the Washington, DC, area. The group meets monthly to improve communication between groups, and its primary function has been to create a more cohesive campaign for Native Heritage Month and to unify the month’s schedule of events." – National Congress of American Indians