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A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2022
President Biden’s Proclamation
During National Native American Heritage Month, we celebrate Indigenous peoples past and present and rededicate ourselves to honoring Tribal sovereignty, promoting Tribal self-determination, and upholding the United States’ solemn trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations.
America has not always delivered on its promise of equal dignity and respect for Native Americans. For centuries, broken treaties, dispossession of ancestral lands, and policies of assimilation and termination sought to decimate Native populations and their ways of life. But despite this painful history, Indigenous peoples, their governments, and their communities have persevered and flourished. As teachers and scholars, scientists and doctors, writers and artists, business leaders and elected officials, heroes in uniform, and so much more, they have made immeasurable contributions to our country’s progress.
We must do more to ensure that Native Americans have every opportunity to succeed and that their expertise informs our Federal policy-making. That is why my Administration is engaging in meaningful consultation with Tribal leaders, particularly when it comes to treaty rights, reserved rights, management and stewardship of Federal lands, consideration of Indigenous Knowledge, and other policies that affect Native peoples. That is also why I appointed Secretary Deb Haaland to be the first-ever Native American Cabinet Secretary, and why more than 50 Native Americans now serve in significant roles across the executive branch.
ICWA is Under Attack | Live Coverage This Wednesday on NDN Live
To shed light on this critical moment as it unfolds, NDN Collective will be LIVE on the ground in Washington, DC on Wednesday. Tune in and join the livestream on NDN Collective’s Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube channels at 10am MT/11am CT/12pm ET, and hear from ICWA advocates, attorneys, and more on this groundbreaking case.
Also leading up to this consequential case, Lorenzo Serna, NDN Collective Director of Tactical Media, hosted an NDN Live conversation on October 27 with Rebecca Nagle– Cherokee journalist, and host and producer of the podcast This Land. On the second season of This Land, Nagle highlights an in-depth investigation into Brackeen v. Haaland and the potential impacts of the case.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 as a federal law that set standards for the removal and out-of-home placement for Indigenous children; it protects the best interests of the child by placing them in homes that are connected to their tribes and relatives. Brackeen is challenging the constitutionality of ICWA, as it places preference for the placement of Indian children to the tribes themselves.
This Wednesday, November 9th, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments for the Brackeen v. Haaland (2021) case.
Lorenzo Serna, NDN Collective Director of Tactical Media, sits down with Rebecca Nagle, Cherokee journalist, host, producer, and writer of This Land Podcast, during the October 27th NDN Live discussion on ICWA and the Brackeen case.
Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site and the Denver Public Library Event
On November 29, 1864, around 675 volunteer soldiers attacked a peaceful village of 750 Cheyenne and Arapahoe people along Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado territory. While many people managed to flee and hide on the banks of the river, the soldiers hunted them down. Over the course of eight hours, 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people were brutally massacred, many of whom were women, children, and the elderly.
In commemoration of the Sand Creek massacre and in honor of Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, consider joining a candlelight vigil and learn more about the new historic site expansion.
Visit the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Eads, Colorado: https://www.nps.gov/sand/index.htm.
Secretary Deb Haaland of the U.S. Department of the Interior announced in August that the site would double in size. The site near Eads, Colorado is open to the public, with education programs that seek to remember the event as an atrocity that should never be repeated. https://www.cpr.org/2022/10/05/u-s-interior-secretary-haaland-announces-expansion-of-sand-creek-massacre-historic-site-in-colorado/
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks during a ceremony commemorating the Sand Creek Massacre and announcing an expansion of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site that more than doubles the park’s size.
Stay Up-To-Date
American Indian College Fund Scholarship Season Begins February 1
The American Indian College Fund’s (College Fund) scholarship season opens on February 1. Hundreds of scholarships are available for all areas of study under the Full Circle Scholarship Program, and students attending tribal colleges and universities can receive additional scholarship support with the program.
Join Us in Contacting Your Senators to Pass the Reauthorization of the Bi-Partisan Violence Against Women Act
We are joining The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) call to action asking you to contact your Senator today to support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Earlier this year the House of Representatives passed a bi-partisan VAWA Reauthorization bill (HR 1620). The Senate has not introduced a VAWA bill.
A key component of VAWA reauthorization must be reaffirming Tribal Nations’ jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes of sexual violence, child abuse, elder abuse, stalking, sex trafficking, and assaults against law enforcement officers in Indian Country. Since VAWA’s reauthorization in 2013, Tribal Nations have successfully prosecuted non-Indian perpetrators in Indian Country, making their communities safer for American Indian and Alaska Native women, as well as the non-Indians who live among and with them.
However, Tribal Nations identified jurisdictional gaps, which continue to leave many Native victims of violence vulnerable and without access to justice. To truly modernize and strengthen VAWA, we must build on the success of the 2013 VAWA tribal provisions by closing these gaps and increasing resources available to Tribal Nations to protect their communities.
Now is the time to contact your Senators to tell them why the tribal jurisdiction provisions in the bi-partisan House VAWA bill are so important to the safety of Native women!
Text the word RESIST to 50409 or to Resistbot on iMessage or Telegram and follow the directions. Resistbot will turn your texts into a letter, and deliver it to the elected officials you choose: from your mayor to the President.
Indigenous Activism Series
Learn How to Advocate for Natives and Native Communities
Watch our recent webinar on advocacy for issues in Indian Country:
Why Native Representation and Mascots Matter
September 24, 2020
Check out our past recordings and stay up-to-date on future webinars.
Educational Resources
The American Indian College Fund compiled a list of educational resources for those interested in building their awareness about American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) experiences in historical and modern times. We hope these resources, from a variety of sources, will initiate conversations on Indigenous issues in the 21st century and express how we can better support and learn from Native peoples. Explore our educational resources to learn more.