Advancing Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Cultures Worldwide, since 1972
International Indian Treaty Council’s 41st Annual Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Sunrise
Gathering on Alcatraz Island (2019). Photo by Norm Sands (Yaqui/Apache).
Celebrating Native Americans Today and Everyday: Resources for Native American Heritage Month
With Native American Heritage Month well underway and Thanksgiving around the corner, it is an excellent time to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ brilliance, honor and acknowledge truth in history, recognize whose land we are on, and work towards true allyship. Check out this resource list we put together, and explore the many ways to honor and celebrate Indigenous Peoples today, and everyday.
2. Learn about Land Acknowledgement, Traditional Lands, and Treaties
Do you know what a land acknowledgement is, why it is important and how to incorporate the practice into your own life? The Native Governance Center shares this handy Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement.
If you’re unsure about the Indigenous Peoples land you are living on, you can search your location using Native Land, a growing database that documents traditional territories, languages, and treaties worldwide. This resource is also available as an app for your phone or tablet.
Other resources include Tribal Nations Maps, a source of hard copy maps that identify the traditional lands of Tribes in North and South America and the Caribbean, and the Smithsonian’s digital archive of treaties made between the United States and Indigenous Tribes.
4. Support Indigenous Businesses and Organizations
If you want to support Indigenous businesses but are unsure of the line between cultural appropriation and appreciation, check out Cultural Survival’s cultural appropriation resource list. You can also read this interview with Bethany Yellowtail (Crow and Cheyenne), curator of the B. Yellowtail Collective.
For a wide array of services and goods, check out NativeWeb's database of Native-owned businesses.
Support Native organizations who are working hard to improve the health, well-being, livelihoods and to uphold the rights of Native Americans across Indian country.
NDN Collective - Dedicated to building Indigenous power through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change
Wisdom of the Elders - Preservation of oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and traditional ecological knowledge
Seeding Sovereignty- An Indigenous-led collective, works to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation
Native American Rights Fund- Provides specialized legal assistance to Native American tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide
Center for Native American Youth- Works to improve the health, safety, and overall well-being of Native American youth through youth recognition, inspiration and leadership; research, advocacy, and policy change
First Nations Development Institute- Improves economic conditions for Native Americans through direct financial grants, technical assistance & training, and advocacy & policy
Intertribal Agriculture Council - promotes the conservation, development and use of Native agricultural resources for the betterment of Native people.
2067 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 441-5400
www.cs.org
Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience since 1972. We envision a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.
