National Native American Heritage Month

November 26, 2024

Designated as National Native American Heritage Month, November finds many Americans reflecting on the historic and present-day harms committed against Native people in our country, even as they prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of the month and honor Native American Heritage Day on the following Friday. At TBF, we have been doing the same, with staff conversations both organized and ad hoc. We have accumulated information and resources to guide our own education and action this month, and in the spirit of the season are happy to share this bounty.

What Is National Native American Heritage Month?

For almost one hundred years, Americans advocated for a permanently designated place on the calendar to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, and cultural and historical legacy of the original inhabitants of what is now the United States and their descendants: the American Indian and Alaska Native people. Finally in 1990, Congress passed an act "to authorize and request the President to proclaim the month of November 1990, and thereafter as ‘Native American Indian Heritage Month.'” According to the US Department of the Interior, which has housed the Bureau of Indian Affairs since 1849, each November’s National Native American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages, stories, and culture of Indigenous peoples across the United States. It also provides a focal point for acknowledging Native Americans’ history and ongoing contributions even in the face of past and present-day inequities.

Right: A print of "Woman of the White Buffalo" by Nayana LaFond, hanging in the Boston Foundation's office represents the movement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
Photo of Woman of the White Buffalo by Nayana LaFond illustrating a Native American woman in black and white with the exception of a red handprint covering her mouth and face
Kendall Scott, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, performs an Eastern blanket dance. The blanket draped over her shoulder, or similar ones, is part of the dance, which she said represents "a young woman going through life." Credit: Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times

“Weaving Together Our Past, Present, and Future”

The Department of the Interior’s theme for this year’s Native American Heritage Month is “Weaving Together Our Past, Present, and Future.” It focuses specifically on understanding failed past policies, such as the Federal Indian Boarding Schools program, and highlights current work being done to combat intergenerational trauma and build hope for the future. 

Learn more about the history of National Native American Heritage Month and the nation’s efforts to honor Native Americans.  

Left: Kendall Scott, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, performs an Eastern blanket dance. The blanket draped over her shoulder, or similar ones, is part of the dance, which she said represents "a young woman going through life." Credit: Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times.

What TBF Is Doing

Research and Convenings

“Native Americans in Massachusetts: New Homecoming and Ongoing Displacements,” a chapter by J. Cedric Woods, Director of the Institute for New England Native American Studies at UMass Boston, from Changing Faces of Greater Boston, is research by Boston Indicators and partners at UMass Boston's Institute for New England Native American Studies. In early 2025, Boston Indicators will be releasing new research investigating Native wealth. The report release will feature a panel with Native community members and leaders.

For Native American Heritage Month this year, TBF held a staff session featuring Larry Spotted Crow Mann, a citizen of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe of Massachusetts who is an award-winning writer, poet, cultural educator, traditional Storyteller, tribal drummer/dancer, and motivational speaker advocating youth sobriety, and cultural and environmental awareness. Larry shared an overview of Nipmuc history, culture and stories, and present-day realities of the tribe and spoke about the current and uplifting work of the Ohketeau Cultural Center--the first and only Indigenous-run cultural center in all of Western and Central Massachusetts.

Several distinct Native Peoples inhabited what is now Massachusetts and points south. Tribal territories of Southern New England. Around 1600.
From "Native Americans in MA: New Homecomings and Ongoing Displacements"
Read Native Americans in MA

Grants and Sponsorships

TBF provides support to Indigenous organizations with grants and sponsorships. This year, we sponsored Indigenous People’s Day Newton’s annual event. Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust Inc. is a current partner in our Food, Fuel and Shelter grants program, working on giving out direct cash assistance and food resources to Indigenous communities in New England. We have been pleased to support the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness through several grants, most recently a two-year Open Door Grant in June 2022 to fund its efforts providing low-income Native American students with funds for college-related expenses and mentoring.

What Can I Do?

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! But free your mind from myths of its origins that too often distort or censor documented history. You may want to read the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address (see more on the side), the Iroquois Nation ritual of “words spoken before all others” that simply and appropriately offers gratitude to each thing in turn that makes life whole.

If you’re wondering what more you can do, below is a list of resources for self-education and action during the final week of National Native American Heritage Month and beyond. We've also included news articles, websites, documentary films, and other media researched by staff that relate to authentic Indigenous stories or prompt action in support of Indigenous communities.  

Further Reading and Viewing

Background/History

News

Issues

Read and Learn About the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address

Despite the myth of Thanksgiving and its warped history, the act of thanksgiving is deeply valued by the Haudenosaunee people also known as the Iroquois, who are originally from what is now known as upstate New York and are comprised of six nations. To the Haudenosaunee, Thanksgiving isn’t a singular holiday, but a meaningful lifestyle. The Thanksgiving Address sends greetings and thanks to all things in the natural world; it re-centers our focus on gratitude and reminds us to appreciate and respect the Earth and all its inhabitants. So, while you are uncovering the truth about the Thanksgiving holiday, we invite you to incorporate the act of thanksgiving into your daily life.

This belt is a national belt of the Haudenosaunee.
Above: The Haudenosaunee Wampum Belt, also known as the Hiawatha Belt, represents the original five nations (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk) of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois people. Image credit: onondaganation.org.

 

Special thanks to Katherine Bace, Associate, Donor Engagement at TBF, for leading the efforts to compile these resources and many additional staff who contributed to the information provided in this blog post.