06 November 2009
American Indian Heritage Month Links
Each November, Americans observe National American Indian Heritage Month, paying tribute to the legacy of the American Indians and Alaska Natives and celebrating their enduring contributions to the nation’s history and culture.
Following is a selection of online resources:
White House Proclamation: National Native American Heritage Month 2009
“Our debt to our First Americans is immense, as is our responsibility to ensure their fair, equal treatment and honor the commitments we made to their forbears.” Also see President Obama’s opening remarks at the first White House Tribal Nations Conference.
White House Advisor for Native American Affairs
Kimberly Teehee appointed as senior policy advisor for Native American affairs
U.S. Government
American Indian History, Culture
List of articles on America.gov dealing with American Indian history and people
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA -U.S. Department of the Interior)
Established in 1824, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) provides services directly or through contracts or grants to about 1.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes in the United States (see PDF version). BIA manages 56 million acres (227,000 square kilometers) of land held in trust for American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. The Bureau of Indian Education provides education services to about 48,000 Indian students.
Census Bureau: Minority Links: American Indians and Alaska Natives
Among other Census Bureau resources are American Factfinder and Facts for Features.
Education Department (ED): Office of Indian Education
Supports efforts of Indian tribes and local agencies to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Energy Department (DOE): Tribal Energy Program
Promotes tribal energy sufficiency, economic growth and employment on tribal lands through the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): American Indian Environmental Office
Coordinates EPA efforts to strengthen public health and environmental protection in Indian country, helping tribes administer their own environmental programs.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: Native Americans
Teaching and learning resources on American Indians from U.S. federal agencies.
GovBenefits.Gov
U.S. government Web site containing information on more than 1,000 benefit and assistance programs.
Health and Human Services (HHS): Administration for Native Americans
Funds community-based projects designed to improve the lives of Native children and families and reduce long-term dependency on public assistance.
Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Code Talk
A federal, interagency Web site that delivers electronic information from government agencies and other organizations to Native American communities. The site links to the Planet Youth page for young people, and to a list of resources on the World War II Navajo Code Talkers. Also see HUD’s Office of Native American Programs.
Indian Health Service (IHS)
A federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives. IHS also has a Heritage Month Web page.
Justice Department (DOJ): Office of Tribal Justice
The department’s primary point of contact with federally recognized American Indian tribes. Also see Tribal Justice & Safety in Indian Country and Tribal Youth Program.
Labor Department: Indian & Native American Programs
Information for grantees who provide employment and training services to American Indians under the Workforce Investment Act.
Law Library of Congress: Indians of North America
This is a section in the world's largest collection of law books and legal resources
Library of Congress: Native American Heritage Month
Web portal, produced by the Library of Congress and several other institutions, that links to exhibits, collections, images and other resource materials.
Library of Congress: Veterans History Project
The Veterans History Project collects written and recorded histories, letters, diaries, photos, historical documents and other mementos of the nation’s veterans. It provides a guide to the records of all American Indian and Alaska Native veterans in the collection, plus interviews with former Navajo “code talkers” Keith Little and Merril Sandoval. (See “Bush Presents Congressional Gold Medals to Navajo Code Talkers.”)
National Archives: Native American Records
Links to online records and listings of microfiche and other offline records
National Indian Gaming Commission
Independent federal agency that regulates gaming activities on Indian lands.
National Museum of the American Indian
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian – which opened in Washington, in 2004 – is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of Native cultures of the Western Hemisphere. See NMAI’s Heritage Month Web page and press release, and its exhibit on Code Talkers.
National Park Service: National American Indian Heritage Month
Links to Web pages describing sites protected by the National Park Service and National Register of Historic Places, lesson plans, and other publications. NPS has a Tribal Preservation Program that assists Indian tribes in preserving their historic properties and cultural traditions. Also see the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries
These online travel itineraries were created by the National Park Service and other federal agencies. See Indian Mounds of Mississippi, Pipestone, Minnesota, and American Southwest, among others.
Naval Historical Center: Native Americans and the U.S. Military
This U.S. Naval Historical Center portal offers links to information on American Indian Medal of Honor winners, Navajo Code Talkers, and more.
NCES: Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 2008
This report by National Center for Education Statistics (U.S. Department of Education) synthesizes NCES data in one compact volume. In 2007, NCES also published Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities.
Small Business Administration: Office of Native American Affairs
Provides business development and expansion tools
Transportation Department (DOT): Tribal Transportation
This office, part of DOT’s Federal Highway Administration, works in a government-to-government relationship with Indian tribal governments.
U.S. Embassy in Berlin
The embassy offers a Web page with extensive background material and teachers’ resources on the American Indian population of the United States.
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Congressional Native American Caucus
These bipartisan committees have jurisdiction to study the problems of American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native peoples and to propose legislation. The Senate committee is co-chaired by Senators Byron Dorgan (Democrat-North Dakota) and John Barrasso (Republican-Wyoming). The House of Representatives committee is led by Representatives Dale Kildee (Democrat-Michigan) and Tom Cole (Republican-Oklahoma).
Organizations and Online Resources
American Indian Library Association
An affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA).
American Indian Policy Center
Nonprofit group focusing on research, policy development and education on critical issues in contemporary American Indian life.
American Indian Science & Engineering Society
AISES offers scholarships to qualified American Indian students majoring in the sciences, engineering or natural resources fields.
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
The world’s largest mountain carving, located in South Dakota, is a memorial to the Lakota leader Crazy Horse. The foundation also supports educational and cultural programs.
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
The project aims to “understand and foster the conditions under which sustained, self-determined social and economic development is achieved among American Indian nations.”
Index of Native American Book Resources
A service of the WWW Virtual Library
Native American Public Telecommunication promotes the creation and distribution of Native media. There are many other organizations that create, distribute or advocate for Native programming, such as Native Public Media, AIROS (American Indian Radio on Satellite), Native Voice One, National Native News and Reznet. There are over 30 Native-owned noncommercial radio stations in the United States. Among the commercial Native media are Indian Country Today, Native Youth Magazine, Native Peoples and Indianz.com. The Native American Journalists Association supports the development of Native media and communications. The American Native Press Archives preserves the written words of Native peoples.
National Congress of American Indians
NCAI informs the public and Congress on the governmental rights of American Indians and Alaska Natives. It has 250 member tribes and is the oldest and largest national Indian organization.
National Indian Law Library
A public law library devoted to federal Indian and tribal law, sponsored by the Native American Rights Fund. Other resources: National Tribal Justice Resource Center; NativeWeb: Law and Legal Issues; Indian Law Resource Center; and Tribal Law and Policy Institute.
National Indian Health Board
Advocates on behalf of all tribal governments, American Indians and Alaska Natives for quality health care.
National Native American Law Student Association (NALSA)
Promotes the study of federal Indian law, tribal law and traditional forms of governance and supports Native Americans in law school
Native American Rights Fund
Nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations and individuals.
Native American Sites is one of many Internet portals linking to resources on American Indians. It is compiled by Lisa Mitten, social sciences editor for CHOICE Magazine, a journal published by the American Library Association. Also see American Indians: Index of Native American Resources on the Internet, and NativeWiki, a project of NativeWeb. NativeWiki includes a section on Native American authors.
Public Broadcasting Service
PBS press release on special programming during National Native American Heritage Month 2009
Scholastic: Native American Heritage
Scholastic, publisher of children’s books and educational technology, provides teachers’ resources, lesson plans and student activities on American Indians, including a Native American Heritage Activity Set.
