History of Native American Day

In many parts of the U.S., Native American Day is celebrated on the fourth Friday in September. Although not a “national” holiday, Native American Day is a time set aside by individual states to honor, recognize, and appreciate the rich cultural heritage and significant contributions of the indigenous people in their respective states.

One of the earliest advocates for a day to honor Native Americans was Dr. Arthur Caswell Parker.  A Cattaraugus Seneca Indian, historian, anthropologist, and author from New York state, Parker’s great-uncle was secretary to Ulysses S. Grant and the first Native to serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Department of the Interior. Dr. Parker founded several Indian rights organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians and others. Parker persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for “First Americans,” which they did from 1912 to 1915.

According to our research, the rest of the timeline for Native American Day goes something like this:

  • 1916:  Possibly the first time an American Indian Day was formally designated in the U.S., when New York’s governor set the second Saturday in May for the observance.
  • 1919:  The Illinois state legislature passed an act similar to New York’s.
  • 1935:  The governor of Massachusetts issued a proclamation naming the day for observing American Indian Day each year.
  • 1976:  President Ford proclaimed a week in October as “Native American Awareness Week.” Since then, the President and Congress have observed a day, a week, or a month each year in honor of the American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. And no coincidence here…  1976 marked the U.S. bicentennial.
  • 1977:  “Indigenous Peoples Day” was first proclaimed in Geneva, Switzerland, by representatives of Native nations at the U.N.’s International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas. The declaration was praised by indigenous peoples around the world.
  • 1989:  The South Dakota legislature declared 1990 as the “Year of Reconciliation” for Native Americans and changed Columbus Day to Native American Day at that time. South Dakota is home to 9 tribes.
  • 1992:  Berkeley, CA followed suit and designated 1992 as the “Year of Indigenous People” and stopped celebrating Columbus Day, despite some local criticism.
  • 1994:  The Tennessee state General Assembly established the fourth Monday in September as “American Indian Day.”
  • 1998:  Some 30 years after Ronald Reagan signed a resolution calling for “American Indian Day” on the fourth Friday in September, the California Assembly declared “Native American Day” an official state holiday.

Several related holidays have also been declared in honor of Native American peoples. Since 1994, August 9 has marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, honoring indigenous populations around the world and including Native Americans. Since 2009, thanks to President Obama, the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving Day is American Indian Heritage Day. This is an apt remembrance given the Native contributions on and leading up to the pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving. And each year, November is American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month at the National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian).

Further, while the several Presidential proclamations did not create a national observance, the 1976 act did allow each federal agency to develop their own ways of celebrating and honoring Native American heritage. For instance, from 2003 to 2010, the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior has observed these themes:

2002 – “Celebrating Our past, Celebrating Our Future”
2003 – “A Celebration of the American Indian Spirit”
2004 – “Native Nations: Continuing in the New Millennium”
2005 – “Knowledge of the Past/Wisdom for the Future”
2006 – “Tribal Diversity: Weaving Together Our Traditions”
2007 – “Keeping in Step to the Heartbeat of the Drum as We Unite as One”
2008 – “Tribes Facing Challenges: In Unity, Transforming Hope into Strengths”
2009 – “Pride in Our Heritage With Gratitude to Our Elders”
2010 – “Life is Sacred – Celebrate Healthy Native Communities”

It’s good to see that recognition for the contributions of Native American tribes, cultures, and contributions is growing. In thinking about this, two things came to mind:

1.      What are the major contributions Native Americans have made?
2.      What does Native American Day mean to Native Americans?

We’d love to hear any thoughts you have on these questions. Anyone? 

Facebook Comments
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
This entry was posted in History, Culture, Justice and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

10 Comments

  1. Posted September 10, 2012 at 10:08 pm | Permalink

    Excellent items from you, man. I have take into account your stuff previous to and you’re simply extremely wonderful. I actually like what you’ve bought right here, certainly like what you are stating and the way in which you are saying it. You’re making it enjoyable and you continue to care for to stay it smart. I cant wait to learn much more from you. This is actually a tremendous website.

  2. Posted September 23, 2012 at 3:44 am | Permalink

    I am proud to be an American Indian. Most of my family is Sioux and another tride but for some reason its a something you do not tell. But why not? My grandpa moved the family out of the Pine Res so my family can make a living and eat. I guess during that time being Red Skin was not a good thing if you need to find a job. That secret still makes my dad who is 81 not tell people he does not know who he is, A Human. My twin sister and I found out one day finding a card in a box Red Bud it says. Its was old. We asked what is this and dad told us that our family is old Sioux most from Pine. When we where born he made sure sioux was not placed on our birth papers. That is sad that my Grandpa who is spirit and dad thinks this to keep the family safe. My twin sister and I are first for many years in may family who is proud to be who we are. Dad told us about forced school during his time and more. omg I wish this nasty truth was told more to others. We are from Yellow Bird and he is in my sister and I strong. We had always had a diffent mindset than the others. Now we know why.
    Thank you for reading
    Patricia

  3. Posted January 6, 2013 at 9:40 am | Permalink

    Hey! This post could not be written any better!
    Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room
    mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward
    this article to him. Many thanks for sharing!

  4. Posted January 18, 2013 at 12:17 pm | Permalink

    Great info. Lucky me I recently found your site by accident (stumbleupon).
    I’ve saved as a favorite for later!

  5. Posted January 31, 2013 at 11:55 am | Permalink

    Your way of describing all in this post is really pleasant, every one be able
    to without difficulty understand it, Thanks a lot.

  6. Posted February 5, 2013 at 10:31 pm | Permalink

    Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe that this web site
    needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the information!

  7. Posted October 29, 2014 at 1:14 am | Permalink

    Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful post. Thanks
    for supplying this information.

  8. Posted October 31, 2014 at 2:34 pm | Permalink

    I was able to find good information from your articles.

  9. Posted February 4, 2019 at 6:44 am | Permalink

    whoah this weblog is magnificent i really like reading your articles.

    Keep up the good work! You already know, lots of individuals are searching round for
    this info, you could aid them greatly.

  10. Posted February 10, 2019 at 1:48 am | Permalink

    Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It truly
    useful… I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

Please be considerate of other visitors. Inappropriate language will be deleted. You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*
*

*

  • Subscribe to the blog and updates about our work in Indian Country

  • Popular Items