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Native American & Alaskan Native Heritage Month

Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month

Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month with dreamcatcher

Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month began as an effort to recognize significant contributions made by the first Americans, which led to the month of November being designated for that purpose. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian and director of the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Rochester, New York, was one of the first advocates of an American Indian Day. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the "First Americans,". In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association approved a plan to nationally recognize American Indian Day; its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge issued a proclamation on September 28, 1915, declaring the second Saturday of each May as American Indian Day. The proclamation contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens. The year before Coolidge issued his proclamation, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode on horseback from state to state, seeking endorsements for a day honoring Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as "National American Indian Heritage Month." Learn More

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