Every month has a special observance – February is Black History Month, March is Women’s History Month, May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, September is Hispanic Heritage Month; the list goes on. The most interesting month, however, is November – National American Indian Heritage Month.
National American Indian Heritage Month is a remarkable establishment, because American Indians (other than Pocahontas and Sacagawea) don’t receive much recognition in the public education system during grades one through twelve.
While our culture was not recognized as “civilized” by most people for hundreds of years, American Indians add to the cultural “melting pot” of the United States.
For starters, it’s appropriate for Americans to use the term “American Indian” instead of “Native American,” because technically anyone born here is a Native American. American Indian denotes someone who is part of the original population that inhabited America.
One of the most prominent and remembered achievements of American Indians was the Navajo Code of World War II. The United States benefited from brave Navajo Marines who spoke, wrote and passed on battlefield messages to their allies in unbreakable codes. While these men are to be admired, their stories should not be the only ones taught in the classroom.
American Indian month is an opportunity for everyone to learn about history lessons often skipped in school. With stories like the ones of Goyahkla, or “Geronimo,” and the Chiricahua Apache Indians; of Kintpuash, or “Captain Jack,” and the Modoc Indians; of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or “Chief Joseph,” and the Nimiipuu Indians – one could carry on all day with names of stories most history teachers don’t teach today.
The names are not always familiar, but they are often well-known to native children and families, who don’t spend much time thinking how “great” it was that Pocahontas “saved” her people.
The unpleasant past of natives is something that should be taught as well. Some people still don’t understand how horrible it was that natives were booted from their homeland, given disease-filled blankets, fed bug-infested flour and left on tiny reservations which were further reduced to make room for more settlers.
American Indian month is a time to study these kinds of events and understand what it means for today’s generation of Indians. They show how we came to be the people we are today, and what atrocities need to be avoided in the future. We, as tribes of the United States, continue to pass on our traditions and live for the future.
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