National Native American Heritage Month display

The organized fight to officially recognize the contributions of Native Americans to the United States began in the early years of the 20th century. Different states and time periods have used different names, including American Indian Day, Native American Day, American Indian Day, and Indigenous Peoples Day. The first Federal proclamation of National American Indian Heritage Month came in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush. Other names for this month of celebration are Native American Heritage Month and National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.

Pesky has a strong collection of books and videos that explore the politics, history, literature, and social conflicts of indigenous peoples in the United States. Please stop by and check out our display. More information is available at the websites of the Federal agencies that sponsor the heritage month.

• National Archives
• National Endowment for the Humanities (EDSITEment)
• National Park Service
• Smithsonian Education

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in a double rainbow

lives the summer rain

who bring the seed

to soak the ground

to make dry arroyos run

as singing summer floods

-- Harold Littlebird, “In a Double Rainbow” in Voices of the Rainbow: Contemporary Poetry by Native Americans, edited by Kenneth Rosen, 212-213. New York, 1993.

-MJD