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Native American Heritage Month 2018: Home

This SU Libraries Guide, created by the SU Libraries Diversity & Inclusion Committee, celebrates Native American Heritage Month by providing descriptions, resources, events, and other information useful to the campus community and beyond.

NOVEMBER is Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, had its official beginning with a 1990 landmark bill, where President George H. W. Bush honored America’s tribal people by designating November as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” The month is a time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, histories, and important contributions of Native people.

November Events

Ward NAHM

November 17 - The Ward Museum
is hosting a FREE-to-the-public
celebration led by American
Indian tribes indigenous to
Delmarva. Come learn about
Native culture on the Eastern
Shore from members of
Delmarva tribes, and other
Native Americans living on the
Shore. This event coincides with
third Saturday Drop In Art and
features family-friendly crafts, led
by members of the Accohannock
tribe.

Wicomico County Flag & Seal

Wicomico County Flag      Wicomico Couty Seal

The official Wicomico County flag and seal pay homage to the original Native American inhabitants of the lands. The county name Wicomico derives from the Algonquin meaning for "people of (the place) where the land ends.”

Native American Statistics

1990
Year that President George H. W. Bush, at the request of Congress, issued a proclamation designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month. Similar proclamations and variations on the name—including Native American Heritage Month and National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month—have been issued each year since 1994.

567
Number of federally recognized tribes, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

1958
Year that the council of the Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona created the first tribal library known to exist.

5.4 million
Number of people who identify as American Indian and Alaska Native, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey.

40
Percent of tribal libraries (out of 99 respondents) that don’t have high-speed broadband internet access, according to a 2013–2014 Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums study.

32
Number of fully accredited tribal colleges and universities in the US, according to the Department of Education. All institutions have access to a library either on campus or within the community.

1979
Year that the American Indian Library Association was founded.

5
Number of consecutive years (2010–2014) that Sherman Alexie’s young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, made the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books list.

Compiled by Hanako Maki, November 1, 2017
Source: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/11/01/by-the-numbers-native-american-heritage-month/

Native American Resources

Resources from the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and others

Regional Information

The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council (Somerset, Wicomico, & Worcester counties) - Native American Heritage

Accohannock Indians on the Eastern Shore History - Hidden in Plain Sight