November Is Native American Heritage Month—Learn More With The BPL
As early as 1915, there have been efforts to institutionalize holidays recognizing Native American history and culture. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a join resolution to make November "National American Indian Heritage Month." Since 1994, the office of the president has issued proclamations to similar effect designating a month-long celebration of Native American Heritage.
The National Congress of American Indians describes Native American Heritage Month as "a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges."
The story of humans in the Americas too often begins just before the arrival of European settlers, which prioritizes a Eurocentric view of history. But there has been human presence in North and South America for at least 15,000 years and maybe even as far back as 20,000 years ago. The immediate accessibility of European accounts of Native cultures makes recent history easier to recount, but the history of human cultures in the Americas is deep.
While much of that history is lost to time, archeological evidence and research has helped us reconstruct what some of those innumerous lives and societies might have been like. And those cultures still live—Indigenous peoples today continue to practice the traditions of their forebears as well as forge new histories. Ultimately, this is largely what Native American Heritage Month is about—not simply expanding historical chapters but remembering and celebrating the cultures of the Americas that preceded European arrival and the ones that live on to this day.
The Birmingham Public Library has many resources to help you learn about and celebrate Native American heritage. Watch films and documentaries on Kanopy and Hoopla by and about Indigenous people, listen to audiobooks by Indigenous authors on Libby, and come check out books on Indigenous heritage at any Birmingham Public Library location!
Here are several titles to start:
1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus; Charles C. Mann
Lakota America: A New History of Indigenous Power; Pekka Hamalainen
Our History is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance; Nick Estes
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Wisdom of Plants; Robin Wall Kimmerer (there is also a copy for young adults)
By Parker Evans | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Business, Science, and Technology Department, Central Library
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