Native American Heritage Month

2024 USET Native American Heritage Month Messages

November 1, 2024: USET Kickoff's Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) with a reminder that we celebrate NAHM, not just in November, but all year long. Read more.

 

Learn more about USET, Native American history, and Native American Heritage Month.

 

"One can tell a great deal about a country by what it chooses to remember ... One can tell even more by what a nation chooses to forget."  Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

 

Indian Country 101

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Resources

 

 

Articles

 

 

Events

  • November 1 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Eastern (Hybrid) - Department of Transportation Native American Heritage Month Event will be held in-person at the USDOT Headquarters in DC. If you are not able to join in person, please click on the virtual event link that will be live streaming the event.
  • November 1-2 at 10:00 am - 5:00 pm each day - American Indigenous Arts Celebration in Big Cypress will celebrate Seminole and Indigenous art, music, food dance and more!
  • November 1- 17 - “Feathers to Fedoras: An Inside Look at Traditional to Contemporary Native Wear” art exhibit at the Falmouth Art Center will include photographs of different types of regalia from traditional to modern with text panels about the pieces and their cultural significance to the tribe. In addition, the exhibit includes a range of regalia items, including headwear and jewelry made by local members of the Wampanoag Tribe and others.
  • November 1-30 - The Smithsonian’s National Museum celebrates Native American Heritage Month with numerous events honoring American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian veterans. Visitors can celebrate the diversity and contributions of these Native cultures with a variety of free public events in Washington, D.C., New York City, and online. Programs include festivals, performances, talks and family activities.
  • November 11 - DC | Honoring Native Veterans 10:00 am - 5:30 pm Eastern
  • November 22-29- 2024 Native Cinema Showcase  (online)
  • November 25 at 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern - Native American Heritage Month Program in Partnership with Arlington National Cemetery and the National Museum of the American Indians is an online program that will showcase a panel of experts that will discuss the American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and Yankton Dakota writer, educator, and political activist Zitkala-Sa’s role in its passage. The program will also cover citizenship through military service and Native Americans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Acting Chief Operating Officer Jay Trainer from the National Archives will provide opening remarks; participating on the panel will be Rose Buchanan from the National Archives, Rachelle Pablo from the National Museum of the American Indian, and Steve Carney from Arlington National Cemetery. Amber Forrester from the National Archives will serve as moderator.
  • November 28-29 - The Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ 52st annual Thanksgiving Pow Wow will be held Nov. 22-29, 2024 on the Pow Wow Grounds in Poarch. The Pow Wow is held to celebrate the cultural heritage and rick tradition of the PBCI. The event is two days filled with dance and drumming competitions, unique crafts from local artisans, barbecue, fire-roasted corn, buffalo burgers, fried chicken and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. General admission is $10. Two-day wrist band is $15. Read more.

 

 

Initiatives and Calls to Actions

 

 

News

 

 

Podcasts

 

 

Arts and Music

2024 Upcoming Native Musicians/Artists:

    • Tia Wood
    • Stella Standingbear
    • Medicine Place
    • Stuart James

Native Fashion Designers/Brands:

    • Jamie Okuma
    • Rebekah Jarvey
    • Michelle Luna
    • Penny Singer
    • Peshawn Bread (House of Sutai)
    • Courtney Axe (Altrn8v)
    • Jeremy Arviso (Original Landlords)

 

 

Publications

 

 

Recommended Books

  • "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" by Charles C. Mann (2006).
  • "Black Elk Speaks" by J. Neihardt (2014).
  • "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Kimmerer  (2013).
  • "Brave Are My People: Indian Heroes Not Forgotten" by Frank Waters (1993).
  • "Great Speeches by Native Americans" Edited by Bob Blaisdell (2000).
  • "Buffalo Tiger: A Life in the Everglades (Indians of the Southeast)" by Buffalo Tiger and Harry A. Kersey Jr. (2008)
  • "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West" by Dee Brown (1970).
  • "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko (1977).
  • "Code Talker" by Chester Nez (2011).
  • "Crazy" by Joy Harjo.
  • "Custer Died For Your Sins" by Vine Deloria, Jr. (1988).
  • "Even As We Breathe" by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (2020).
  • "Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask" by Anton Treuer (2012).
  • "Fire Keeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley (2021).
  • "Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians out of Existence in New England" by Jean M. O’Brien (2010).
  • "Forgotten Founders: How the American Indian Helped Shape Democracy" by Bruce E. Johansen (1982).
  • "Heart Berries" by Terese Marie Mailhot (2018).
  • "House Made of Dawn" by N. Scott Momaday.
  • "If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving" by Chris Newell (2021).
  • "Killers of The Flower Moon" by David Grann (2017).
  • "Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century" by Fergus Bordewich (1997).
  • "The Life and Traditions of the Red Man: A rediscovered treasure of Native American literature" by Joseph Nicolar (2007).
  • "Lost Bird of Wounded Knee" by Renee Sansom Flood (1995).
  • "Love Medicine"(1984) and "The Round House" (2013) by Louise Erdrich.
  • “Medicine Trail:  The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon” by Melissa Jayne Fawcett (2000)
  • "Motorcycles & Sweetgrass" by Drew Hayden Taylor (2010).
  • "Reservation "Capitalism" by Robert J. Miller (2012).
  • "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich (2013).
  • "Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation" by Peter Cozzens (2020).
  • "There, There" by  Tommy Orange (2018).
  • "Unsettling Truths" by Mark Charles (2019).
  • "Winter In the Blood" by James Welch (1974).
  • "Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country" by Sierra Crane Murdoch (2020).

Children's Books

  • "Bowwow Powwow" by Brenda J. Child (2018).
  • “Cranberry Day: A Wampanoag Harvest Celebration” by Jannette Vanderhoop (2002).
  • “Fighting Eagles/Dear and Turtle” by Sesostrie Youchigant to Mary Haas (2011).
  • “Flip and Flop” by Leslie Pearson (2019).
  • "Frybread" by Kevin Noble Maillard (2019).
  • "An Indigenous Peoples’ History for Young People" by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza (2019).
  • "Journey of the Freckled Indians" by Alyssa London (2020).
  • "Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story" by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Buntern (2022).
  • "Race to the Truth: Colonization and the Wampanoag Story" by Linda Coombs (Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah) (2023).
  • "Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie (2016).
  • "We Are the Water Protectors" by Carole Lindstrom (2020).

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Myths and Facts

 

 

Videos and Films

 

 

The 574 Federally Recognized Tribal Nations