November is National American Indian Heritage Month

       The U.S. Census reports that there are 4.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives throughout the United States, Hawaii and Alaska.  In honor of this month, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has developed a new web page to help teachers celebrate National American Indian Heritage Month in their classrooms. The site features information on key historical events, influential figures and the continuing contributions Native Americans are making to the world.

The site also includes recommended readings for grades k-12 and links to primary documents and lesson plans.  Today, there are more than 560 tribes recognized by the U.S. government as sovereign nations and over 200 indigenous languages are spoken.

Some of the largest tribes include Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Lumbee, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo. Tribal governments often offer community-based services to their members, such as firefighting, law enforcement, and court systems. Native American languages have had an important impact on American English.  Nearly half the states got their names from Indian words.

Their contributions to dining traditions go way beyond their role as providers of the first Thanksgiving. One native food, corn, has become the heart of the American diet and native ways of soil conservation are still used as models of responsible agriculture. Formal American Indian heritage recognition began in 1915, when Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to recognize the “First Americans” with their own day.

American Indian Day was later recognized by the annual Congress of the American Indian Association on the second Saturday of each May. It was not until 1990 that President George H.W. Bush issued a proclamation declaring November to be National American Indian Heritage Month.

— Teachers of Color