Native American Heritage Day takes place on Friday, November 26, 2021. This day of celebration actually occurs at the end of Native American Heritage Month.
Native American Heritage Day 2021
Native American Heritage Month states that the Congress of the American Indian officially determined to move forward with plans for American Indian Day in 1915. An Arapahoe man named Rev. Sherman Coolidge, was directed to ask the United States to set aside this day in observance of Native American Heritage. Additionally, Dr. Arthur C. Parker, who had Seneca heritage, directed the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, New York. Through his leadership and persistence, the Boy Scouts of America began to honor this day.
According to Native American Heritage Month, Red Fox James from the Blackfoot tribe, is said to have ridden his horse from state to state “seeking approval for a day to honor Indians.” While he showed up to the White House with 24 state endorsements, there is no record of this day being honored.
President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution stating that November of 1990 would be “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar resolutions have been declared each year since 1994.
Historically, Native American Heritage Day has been celebrated in May, September, and in November. Right now, many states have declared Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Concordia’s Native American Heritage Day resources
To help you honor the histories, cultures, contributions of Native Americans, Concordia University Ann Arbor is sharing our resource list for further study. Remember that you can study these resources all year, not just during the month of November.
Open-access digital resources
- Native Knowledge 360: Educator Resources from the National Museum of the American Indian
- Native Communities Program for Educators from the National Archives
- Living Nations, Living Worlds: A Map of First Peoples Poetry from the Library of Congress
- Americans: Digital Exhibition from the National Museum of the American Indian
- Native American History and Culture from the Library of Congress
Ebooks available to CUAA students, faculty, & staff
I Am Where I Come From: Native American College Students and Graduates Tell Their Life Stories
By: Melanie Benson Taylor and K. Tsianina Lomawaima
Cornell University Press
Learn, Teach, Challenge: Approaching Indigenous Literatures
By: Deanna Reder and Linda M. Morra
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Speaking of Indigenous Politics: Conversations with Activists, Scholars, and Tribal Leaders
By: J. Kehaulani Kauanui and Robert Warrior
University of Minnesota Press
American Indian Health and Nursing
By: Margaret P. Moss
Springer Publishing
Visualities: Perspectives on Contemporary American Indian Film and Art
By: Denise K. Cummings
Michigan State University Press
Available at Concordia University Ann Arbor’s Library
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
By: Dee Brown
E 81. B75
Roots and Branches: A Resource of Native American Literature
By: Dorothea M. Susag
PS 153 .I52 S87
Encyclopedia of Native American Artists
By: Deborah Everett
Display N 6538 .A4 E94 2008
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
By: Traci Sorell
Juv 975.4 S657 We
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
By: Kevin Noble Maillard
Coming soon to the library
The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery
By: Sarah Augustine
Coming soon to the library
Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way
By: Richard Twiss
Coming soon to the library
First Nations Version, An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament
By: Terry M. Wildman
Coming soon to the library
Decolonizing Evangelicalism, An 11:59 p.m. Conversation
By: Randy S. Woodley and Bo C. Sanders
Coming soon to the library
— Vanessa Lane is the Content Marketing Lead at Concordia University and can be reached at vanessa.lane@cuaa.edu. When she's not at work, she can be found playing with her kids or watching NBA basketball with her husband.
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