Celebrate Native American Heritage Month this November

Check out the Native American Heritage Month display at Central Library. 

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations  

Celebrate National Native American Indian Heritage Month this November!

Before President George H. W. Bush declared this heritage month in 1990, there were many individual efforts honoring Indigenous heritage under the names of “First Americans Day,” “Indian American Day,” and “Native American Day.”

Other celebrations of this month are called “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.”

If you do not know much about Indigenous history, culture, and peoples, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is a great place to start. 

The BPL and Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC) offer a variety of resources about Indigenous culture and history, especially here in Alabama and Birmingham.

The library catalog offers many books, audiobooks, films, and videos on native history, culture, and fiction across all BPL locations and JCLC members.

You can find these books, and more, in the library catalog:

Hear the stories, philosophies, and essays from Black Elk in this bestseller.

Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt

After meeting Neihardt on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Black Elk chose him to record and publish his life as an Oglala Lakota visionary and healer. Hear the story of his life and his peoples during their tribulations of the nineteenth century. 

Chartrand is the executive chef of River Cree Resort & Casino.

tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine by Shane Chartrand

Pronounced "ta-wow" from the Cree dialect, Chartrand explores his heritage through a culinary journey he shares with you. This book has over seventy-five recipes, personal stories, photos, and interviews steeped in Chartrand's proud heritage. 

If plants are a new hobby for you, this book should be on your list. 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer

Dr. Kimmerer combines her degrees in botany with her lived experiences as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in this book that is described as "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise."

Check out the Poarch Band of Creek Indians' own book next.

The Rise of Poarch Band of Creek Indians by Lou Vickery and Steve Travis

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are descendants of a segment of the original Creek Nation from Alabama and Georgia.

Unlike many eastern Indian tribes, the Poarch Creeks kept or returned to their tribal lands, living on their reservation in Poarch, Alabama for the past 200 years.

Read Vickery and Travis' book for a collective history of the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama.

A great selection to read with your teenage child.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

This popular choice is by historian and activist Dunbar-Ortiz, who offers a history of the U.S.A. told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. The BPL has an adapted version of this book for teenage readers, too.

The BPL has access to many databases, including Ancestry.com. Photo via Ancestry.com. 

Our Southern History Department also offers a variety of resources and library-use-only documents to help you look into your own heritage.

Without making an appointment to visit, patrons can look through their online bibliography for a list of books and documents on Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Choctaw nations.

Each entry offers a brief description of the source and how it may help you trace your lineage. You can expect another blog on researching Indigenous ancestry with the Southern History Department soon.

You can find this exhibit outside of the elevator on the top floor at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Photo by Cheyenne Trujillo.

Right down the street from the Central Library, the Birmingham Museum of Art's featured exhibit is the Lost Realms of the Moundbuilders: Ancient Native Americans of the South and Midwest.

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum organized this exhibit and is partnering with Moundville Archaeological Park this month.

Moundville is roughly an hour away from Birmingham. Photo by Cheyenne Trujillo.

Moundville Archeological Park is a short drive away in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Mississippian people built 29 mounds on this historic site.

The Mississippian People built mounds that last to this day. Photo by Cheyenne Trujillo.

Right now, they are hosting a variety of events for Native American Heritage Month, like an American Indian Film Festival and Stargazing at Moundville.

We hope to see you exploring BPL locations, other JCLC members, and Alabama to learn more about Native American Heritage Month this November.

Follow the BPL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the JCLC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see more November updates.