As we continue to carry on the support from Indigenous People’s Day across the nation, November highlights the celebration of Native American Heritage Month! It’s not only a time to amplify our stories, culture, traditions, and identity, but it is also a time to give back and honor the indigenous peoples of this land.
Recognizing our first nation ancestors and tribes together as a unified voice creates bold movements in working together. So how do you honor and recognize those before us? Take a peek at the following guide: Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement.
In countries across the globe, it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not. Together, we can spark a movement to change that.
We call on all individuals and organizations to open public events and gatherings with acknowledgment of the traditional Native inhabitants of the land.
Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth. Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands. Millions would be exposed—many for the first time—to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action.