Native American History Month memorable
Posted Dec. 8, 2021
By Huda Aden
Staff Reporter
Congress passed a joint resolution in 1990 designating the month of November as the first national Indian Heritage Month, which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
Natives across the country celebrate November and share their unique ancestry, tradition, and contributions their communities make today and have made throughout history. Since 1990, every president declared the month Native American Heritage Month. The month of November concludes the traditional harvest season of Native American Indians and is generally a time of celebration and giving thanks.
“We celebrate the countless contributions of Native Americans past and present, honor the influence they had on the advancement of our nation, and recommit ourselves to upholding trust and treaty responsibility, strengthening Tribal sovereignty, and advancing Tribal self-determination,” Bush said.
An Indian tribe was originally a body of people bound together by blood ties who were socially, politically, and religiously organized, who lived together in a defined territory and who spoke a common language or dialect. The U.S government said that the Indians need to be officially recognized in order to be considered a tribe.
"One thing that I want people to know about Native American culture is that 'Native American' is a broad term that encompasses hundreds of different tribes with shared beliefs, but also many cultural differences. A lot of people generalize Natives because of their limited perspective on the unique way of their people, but the best thing to do yourself is respectfully ask genuine questions and do your own research when someone shares what tribe they are from with you so that you can get to know them better as a person."
Counseling secretary and Koyukon Athabascan and Inupiaq tribe member Tara Williams.
There are 574 tribes of natives and there are between 370 and 500 million indegionios people worldwide in over 90 countries. The Hopi Indians are the oldest tribe. The Hopis are natives of Northwestern Arizona, where their ancestors lived for thousands of years, The Hopis are a deeply religious group of people who live by ethics, peace, and goodwill. They work hard to retain their culture, language and religion. They are widely known for their crafts, such as pottery, silver overlay and baskets.
The most widely spoken Native language is Navajo, with nearly 170,000 speakers. The next most common is Yupik at 19,750, which is spoken in Alaska. Many Native cultures harvested corn, beans, chile, squash, wild fruit and herbs, wild greens, nuts, and meats.
"One thing that I want people to know about Native American culture is that 'Native American' is a broad term that encompasses hundreds of different tribes with shared beliefs, but also many cultural differences," said counseling secretary and Koyukon Athabascan and Inupiaq tribe member Tara Williams. "A lot of people generalize Natives because of their limited perspective on the unique way of their people, but the best thing to do yourself is respectfully ask genuine questions and do your own research when someone shares what tribe they are from with you so that you can get to know them better as a person."