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More information on Native American Heritage 

National Native American Heritage Month is a time to recognize the histories, invaluable contributions and livelihood of American Indian and Alaska Native people in the United States. It is an opportunity to educate the general public about tribes, their cultures, traditions and languages. Use this time to highlight the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and presently, as well as the ways in which tribal citizens have overcome these challenges (National Indian Council on Aging, Inc).

• For almost one hundred years, Americans, both Indian and non-Indian, have urged that there be a permanently designated place on the calendar to honor the contributions, achievements, sacrifices, and cultural and historical legacy of the original inhabitants of what is now the United States and their descendants: the American Indian and Alaska Native people.

• The quest for a national honoring of Native Americans began in the early 20th Century as a private effort. As far back as the late 1970s, Congress has enacted legislation, and subsequent presidents have issued annual proclamations designating a day, a week, or a month to celebrate and commemorate the Nation's American Indian and Alaska Native heritage. In 2009, Congress passed, and the President signed legislation establishing the Friday following Thanksgiving Day of each year as "Native American Heritage Day."

• The origins of Native American Heritage Month officially began in 1986 when Congress passed a joint resolution which authorized President Ronald Reagan to proclaim the week of November 23-30, 1986 as “American Indian Week.”

Read more facts visit: Native American Heritage Month.gov or U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs.