The Library Unbound: Milne Library News

IDEA Team Blog Series: Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States of America. Did you know that New York State was the first state to declare an “American Indian Day” back in 1916 (United States Senate, n.d., para 1). In the seventies and eighties there were a few attempts by Presidents and Congress to pass a Native American Awareness Week (United States Senate, n.d., para 1). Finally, in 1990, a law was signed designating November as Native American Heritage Month (United States Senate, n.d., para 2). 

Our campus has recently adopted an Indigenous Land acknowledgement statement. It was developed by a task force with consultation from Darren Bonaparte, the Director of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office, and reads as follows:  

We acknowledge with respect the Kanienʼkehá:ka—the People of the Land of Flint—also known as the Mohawk Nation, on whose lands SUNY Oneonta now stands. The Mohawks are the Keepers of the Eastern Door of the Haudenosaunee—the People of the Longhouse—an indigenous confederacy that includes the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations. They and their relatives in the United States and Canada maintain stewardship of this land today.

If you would like to learn more about Native American culture and history, we have a variety of material available at the library. Below is a list of places to get started!

References: 

United States Senate, (n.d.). Celebrating National Native American Heritage Month.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/American_Indian_Heritage_Month.htm

List of Resources: 

Databases: