Indigenous Heritage
Land Acknowledgement
The name "Nebraska" is based on an Oto Indian word Nebrathka meaning "flat water" (referring to the Platte River, which is also an official symbol of Nebraska). Indigenous names can be found throughout Nebraska:
Cities: Arapahoe, Ogallala, Omaha, Pawnee City, Santee, Ponca, Macy, Winnebago.
Counties: Cheyenne, Dakota, Keya Paha, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Sioux.
According to maps of the mid-1600s, the land Hastings College resides on is the homeland of the Pâri (Pawnee) people. In the early 18th century, the Pawnee numbered more than 60,000 people; by 1873, the Pawnee population was reduced to approximately 2,400. The Pawnee have lived here for thousands of years until ceding their territory to and being removed by the U.S. government. Today, they are federally recognized as the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.
Today six tribes, (Omaha, Winnebago, Ponca, Iowa, Santee Sioux, and Sac and Fox), have reservations in Nebraska. We wish to recognize our obligations to this land and to the people who took care of it, as well as to the estimated 29,000 Native descendants who live in Nebraska today.
What is Native American/Indigenous People’s Month?
For almost one hundred years, Americans both Indian and non-Indian have urged that there be permanently designated by the nation a special 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.
The quest for a national honoring of Native Americans began in the early 20th Century as a private effort. As far back as the late 1970s, Congress has enacted legislation and subsequent presidents have issued annual proclamations designating a day, a week or a month to celebrate and commemorate the nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native heritage. In 2009, Congress passed and the President signed legislation that established the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving Day of each year as “Native American Heritage Day.” [Source: Indian Affairs]
Terms Used for Indigenous People’s
Alaska Native: This term refers to the Indigenous people of the area. Native Alaskan is anyone from Alaska (including non-indigenous).
American Indian: Some tribes (and their associated parks) prefer Native Americans. Use specific tribal name(s) whenever possible, accurate, and appropriate. See also First Nations, tribal names.
First Nation, First Nations: Refers to aboriginal people in Canada who are neither Inuit (people of the Canadian Arctic) nor Métis (descendants of First Nation people who married Europeans). Often used in the plural in the collective sense, as in a program for First Nations youth. The term is widely used in Canada but is not used in the US, except in connection with Métis whose homelands include northwest Minnesota, North Dakota, or other northern states. See also American Indian.
Native American: Use if requested by specific tribes or parks. See American Indian.
Tribal Name: Use specific tribal name(s) whenever possible, accurate, and appropriate. Also, the preference is to use the singular noun: Navajo, Lakota, Tlingit. See also American Indian. Examples: The Navajo entered Canyon de Chelly about 300 years ago. The Anishinaabek fished in Lake Superior.
Celebrating Indigenous People’s Heritage
Some honor and celebrate Indigenous People’s Heritage Month by donating to Indigenous charities, eating food from Indigenous tribes, learning from their cultures, and honoring influential Indigenous figures who have made an impact on our society. Below are some ways you can celebrate with us!