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It's November and this month has been set aside for National American Indian Heritage Month. Summer is over and the tree leaves are turning bright multi colors, the farm crop's have been harvested. Now it's time to celebrate the year and look forward to the new one coming up.

During the month of November each year, American Indians display their rich and colorful heritage nation wide. All across America, Indian Nations will hold special events to include Indian feasts and Pow Wows. School children will take part in making Indian crafts and learning about the life of First Americans history, traditions and culture. http://www.mrdonn.org/nativeamericans.html#Holidays

A good source of school educational information covering American Indians can be found on Education World web site. I'm very proud of the fact that Education World worked with our national group "United Native America" to bring about their setting up an American Indian heritage-history page, as to blending it into Thanksgiving holiday events. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson209.shtml

Every class room should have the book "American Indian Contributions to the World" American Indians of North, Meso-, and South America were the first to cultivate seventy-five percent of the many varieties of food grown in the world today. Many pharmaceuticals in current use were first discovered by Indian healers centuries before the Europeans came to the Americas. Freeze-dried food, syringes, rootbeer, rubberized clothing, beef jerky, chewing gum and many of the tenets of the United States Constitution are only a few of the independent inventions and original discoveries that American Indian people gave to the world.

American Indian Contributions to the World 15,000 Years of Invention and Innovation: http://www.kporterfield.com/aicttw/

American Indian Heritage Month is celebrated to recognize the intertribal cultures, the perseverance and unity of their people to overcome all obstacles laid before them while striving for a better future for all. It's about paying tribute and giving thanks to Mother Earth for making life possible with all her bountiful foods, water and shelters. This belief and lifestyle has been the core center of the American Indian community from the beginning of their life on Mother Earth.

Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian who was the Director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, New York was one of the first proponents calling for recognition of American Indians. The Boy Scouts of America took up Dr. Parker’s cause and set aside one day a year under the name "First Americans".

At the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kansas; Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapaho Indian issued a proclamation on September 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of May as American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of American Indians as U.S. citizens. That historic citizenship event came about in the year of 1924.

American Indian Citizenship Act 1924: http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/native_american8.html

More heritage month history and calendar of events: http://www.ihs.gov/PublicAffairs/Heritage/index.cfm

List of American Indian Heritage Month events by states & Canada; also add your event: 500 Nations Super Site: http://www.500nations.com/

Americans today are turning away from teaching the "discovery" of the Americas. Instead, they’re teaching first contact between Europeans and indigenous people of the Americas. In teaching the "discovery" of the Americas, indigenous American Indian peoples history is given far less prominence to the point of nonexistence in our nations school books. All Americans today, along with their families are participating in Native Americans heritage, history and culture.

National American Indian Heritage Month promotes healthy family oriented gathering events for young and old-alike nation wide. It's truly a time to celebrate and reflect on our well being, family life and how mankind is treating Mother Earth today. The American Indian community in the month of November is rolling out the red carpet for people of the world to join with them in their celebration of life and family.

Check out links below for more information and events:

National American Indian Museum http://www.nmai.si.edu/index.cfm

Smithsonian American Indian Heritage Month Feature Event: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/index.html

ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS http://www.alaskanativeheritagemonth.org/events.htm

White House Proclamation by the President http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071031-2.html

Mike Graham
United Native America (Founder)

Biography - Mike Graham

Mike Graham is a citizen of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation, a retired service connected disabled Army veteran. Founded United Native America in 1993 to form a national group to take action on American Indian issues. The groups main issue is to bring about a federal national holiday for Native Americans. United Native America's motto is, "Standing up for America and the American Indian community."

Graham has been a guest speaker on national and international radio talk shows to include television programs concerning Indian community issues, his reports on Indian issues have been published in newspapers all over America. He has traveled across the country discussing issues with Indian nation leaders, he has presented Indian issues at college's and high schools.