The Creation of American
Indian Heritage Month
A brief history
Source: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Indian
Affairs
What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a
day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans
made to the establishment and growth of the U.S., has resulted in
a whole month being designated for that purpose.
Early Proponents
One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur
C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of
Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts
of America to set aside a day for the "First Americans" and for
three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress
of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally
approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its
president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the
country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on
Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as
an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for
recognition of Indians as citizens.
The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a
Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval
for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the
endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is
no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed.
State Celebrations
The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second
Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of N.Y. Several states celebrate
the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators
enacted such a day in 1919. Presently, several states have designated
Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day
we observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday.
Heritage Months
In 1990 President George Bush approved a joint resolution designating
November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar
proclamations have been issued each year since 1994. The theme for
2003 is "Honoring Life, Honoring Elders, Honoring Heritage."
STATES WITH LARGEST POPULATIONS OF NATIVE AMERICANS
State Estimated Population State Estimated Population
Alaska 100,000
New York 76,000
Arizona 256,000
North Carolina 98,000
California 309,000
Oklahoma 263,000
Michigan 60,000
Texas 96,000
New Mexico 163,000
Washington 103,000
Links
http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/argylems/task1-2.htm#2
http://www.indians.org/
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