Photo: Red Fox James (Blackfoot) who rode horseback through several states in 1914 to the White House to generate interest in a Day celebrating American Indians
News from Las Vegas/Nevada
History of National Native American Heritage Month
Since 1916, when New York became the first state to declare an “American Indian Day,” efforts have been underway to acknowledge the many contributions and achievements of Native peoples. In 1976, as part of the nation’s bicentennial commemoration, S.J. Res 209 authorized President Gerald Ford to proclaim October 10-16, 1976, as “Native American Awareness Week.” In 1986, Congress passed S.J. Res 390, requesting that the president designate November 23–30,1986, as “American Indian Week.” Congress continued this practice in subsequent years, declaring one week during the autumn months as “Native American Indian Heritage Week.”
In 1990, Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed into law a joint resolution designating the month of November as the first National American Indian Heritage Month, also known as Native American Heritage Month. “American Indians were the original inhabitants of the lands that now constitute the United States of America,” noted H.J. Res. 577. “Native American Indians have made an essential and unique contribution to our Nation” and “to the world.” Introduced by Hawaii senator Daniel Inouye and congressional delegate Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa, the joint resolution stated that “the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon Federal, State, and local governments, interested groups and organizations, and the people of the United States to observe the month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.” Since 2008, by statute and/or presidential proclamation, the month of November has been recognized as National Native American Heritage Month.
In 1907, both Charles Curtis of Kansas and Robert Owen of Oklahoma were senators who had Alaskan Native ancestry. Curtis was the great-great grandson of White Plume, a Kansa-Kaw chief who had offered assistance to the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. A Republican Party devotee who was proud of his Kaw ancestry, Curtis often quipped that he was “one-eighth Kaw Indian and 100%Republican.” Owen was a member of the Cherokee Nation. He taught orphaned Cherokee children and represented the Five Civilized Tribes as a federal Indian agent before entering politics as a Progressive Democrat. In 1993, Ben Nighthorse Campbell of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, became the third senator of Native American descent. Campbell, who had grown up in California, moved to Colorado in 1978. He represented Colorado in the House of Representatives for six years before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1992. While in the Senate, Campbell was the first American Indian to chair the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. In 2023, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, became the fourth senator of Native American descent. (Information provided by the Senate Historical Office.)
