On October 31, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month and November 29, 2013 as Native American Heritage Day. This photo is from the August 2013 Rendezvous Days pow wow in Grand Portage in which local Anishinaabe traditions are kept alive.
On October 31, 2013, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month and November 29, 2013 as Native American Heritage Day. Similar proclamations have been declared by the president every year since 1994.
“From Alaskan mountain peaks to the Argentinian pampas to the rocky shores of Newfoundland, Native Americans were the first to carve out cities, domesticate crops, and establish great civilizations,” the president declared. “When the Framers gathered to write the United States Constitution, they drew inspiration from the Iroquois Confederacy, and in the centuries since, American Indians and Alaska Natives from hundreds of tribes have shaped our national life. During Native American Heritage Month, we honor their vibrant cultures and strengthen the government-to-government relationship between the United States and each tribal nation.”
In December 1915, according to NativeAmericanHeritageMonth.gov, a site hosted by the Library of Congress, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, presented the White House with endorsements he had gathered on horseback from 24 state governments in support of designating a national day to honor American Indians. Earlier that year, American Indian Association President Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, had issued a proclamation declaring the second Saturday of each May as American Indian Day and appealing to the U.S. government for recognition of Indians as citizens.
In May 1916, New York became the first state to designate an American Indian Day. Several states celebrate American Indian Day on the fourth Friday of September and several have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it has still never been declared a national legal holiday.
President Obama’s proclamation goes on to say, “As we observe this month, we must not ignore the painful history Native Americans have endured – a history of violence, marginalization, broken promises, and upended justice. There was a time when Native languages and religions were banned as part of a forced assimilation policy that attacked the political, social, and cultural identities of Native Americans in the United States.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives live in the U.S. today and make up about 2 percent of the nation’s population. The population of American Indian and Alaska Natives is expected to be 11.2 million by 2060, 2.7 percent of the total population. Minnesota is one of 14 states with more than 100,000 American Indian and Alaska Native residents. The state with the highest percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native residents is Alaska at 19.6 percent.
Grandparents living with their grandchildren represent 6.2 percent of the nation’s American Indian/Alaska Native population. Over 20 percent of American Indian/Alaska Natives over age five speak a language other than English at home.
The president continued in his proclamation, “Through generations of struggle, American Indians and Alaska Natives held fast to their traditions, and eventually the United States government repudiated its destructive policies and began to turn the page on a troubled past.” This has not turned around the problems America’s history brought to the Native people, however.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 54 percent of single-race American Indian/Alaska Native people own their own homes, but this is lower than the almost 64 percent of the overall population who own their own homes. Almost 79 percent have academic credentials equivalent to a high school diploma and over 13 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but that is lower than the overall population in which over 86 percent have a high school diploma and 29 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
The median household income of single race American Indian/Alaska Natives was $35,310 in 2012, compared with $51,371 in the U.S. overall. Over 29 percent were in poverty, the highest rate of any of this country’s six official race categories, while the overall U.S. poverty rate was 15.9 percent. Over 27 percent lacked health insurance compared to 14.8 in the overall U.S. population.
Native Americans are making significant achievements despite adversity. Almost 41 percent of American Indian/ Alaska Natives over age 25 with bachelor’s degrees earned them in science and engineering fields compared with 43.6 percent of the entire U.S. population. Last year, 70,532 American Indian/Alaska Natives had a graduate or professional degree. Those in the armed forces numbered 161,686.
The president’s proclamation outlines efforts to improve public policy regarding Native Americans: “My Administration remains committed to self-determination, the right of tribal governments to build and strengthen their own communities. Each year I host the White House Tribal Nations Conference, and our work together has translated into action.
“We have resolved longstanding legal disputes, prioritized placing land into trust on behalf of tribes, stepped up support for tribal colleges and universities, made tribal health care more accessible, and streamlined leasing regulations to put more power in tribal hands.
“Earlier this year, an amendment to the Stafford Act gave tribes the option to directly request federal emergency assistance when natural disasters strike their homelands.
“In March, I signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which recognizes tribal courts’ power to convict and sentence certain perpetrators of domestic violence, regardless of whether they are Indian or non-Indian.
“And this June, I moved to strengthen our nation-to-nation relationships by establishing the White House Tribal Council on Native American Affairs. The Council is responsible for promoting and sustaining prosperous and resilient Native American communities.
“As we observe Native American Heritage Month, we must build on this work. Let us shape a future worthy of a bright new generation, and together, let us ensure this country’s promise is fully realized for every Native American.
“Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 29, 2013, as Native American Heritage Day.”
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