Indigenous pride

Native American Heritage Month grew out of American Indian Day, which was first celebrated in 1916. In 1990, Congress issued a joint resolution designating the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. A similar proclamation has been issued each year since 1994, though the name has changed over time. After adding Alaskan natives, the name now encompasses all Native Americans, including native Hawaiians.

When Europeans first made contact with the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, their reports often marveled at the culture. For example:

• Natives had domesticated corn, cranberries and turkeys.
• They had advanced medical knowledge, including pain relievers, oral contraception and surgical techniques.
• They had come up with inventions like baby bottles, syringes and hammocks.

After a few short decades, that admiration was replaced with certainty that the natives, now called "savages," had not discovered any of these things -- that there was a lost colony of whites who were responsible. That portrayal was used to justify the centuries of oppression and conquest that followed.

Numerous tribes have called the Great Plains home, though Indigenous people were gradually removed as treaty after treaty with the U.S. government chipped away at their rights to the land. Some treaties were made with factions rather than whole tribes, while land in western Iowa and Missouri was ceded in 1830 because an interpreter was not provided during negotiations. Natives were eventually shunted onto reservations, which were themselves whittled down in size over time. Some of those settlements remain today: Meskwaki and Blackbird Bend in Iowa, with Winnebago, Sac and Fox, Ponca, Sioux, Omaha and Niobrara in Nebraska. 

To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, start by exploring the history of the land and cultures around you. For instance, "Iowa" comes from "Ioway," a French term for the Bah-Koh-Je tribe that lived in the area when white settlers began to arrive. "Nebraska" comes from the Otoe words for "flat water," a reference to the Platte River. Museums, documentaries and stories from Native Americans themselves can help you learn more.

Veridian is committed to being a credit union where everyone belongs. This article series spotlights different groups to encourage mutual understanding and to help create communities where everyone feels welcome.