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About
It was in Presidential Proclamation 6230 that George H.W. Bush paid tribute to the rich history and culture of the American Indian tribes. Each year since 1990 the president has proclaimed November the designated National Native American Heritage Month. Congress chose the month of November because this is generally the end of the traditional harvest season and a time of celebration. It is also a time for all American people to honor the achievements of indigenous communities and celebrate the diverse cultures and traditions these peoples contribute to our collective history. In addition, November is a time to raise awareness about the challenges native people have faced in the past as well as in the present and how they have worked to conquer these challenges. Origins
The origins of Native American Heritage Month can be traced back to the early 20th century, specifically to the efforts of Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca archaeologist and historian, who advocated for a day to honor Native Americans, leading to New York State becoming the first to recognize "American Indian Day" in 1916; eventually, President George H.W. Bush officially designated November as "National American Indian Heritage Month" in 1990, solidifying the month-long recognition that exists today. Sources/Additional Information
©John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912 |
November
Unkechaug, with pottery from at least 1,000 BCE, archery technology developed around 700 CE, and agriculture practices originating in Mesoamerica reaching the area by 1400 CE. The material culture of the Unkechaug, like many of their Indigenous neighbors throughout the North East, heavily features wampum. Wampum are handcrafted shell beads of two varieties; white wampum made from the center spine of the common whelk and the more valuable black or purple wampum from the deep indigo edge of the hard shell quahog clam. Wampum making was an artisan craft in which Indigenous men would use quartzite stones to chip away the outer edges of the shells then, using stone blades, chisels, and scrapers, they would grind and cut the shell to the shape of the beads and finally use a stone tipped pump drill to to create a hole through the bead. These beads served a multitude of cultural purposes; they were woven into clothes or worn as jewelry as signifiers of social status, belts of wampum were given as restitution to the family of murder victims, and different amounts, colors, and arrangements of wampum strands were used as diplomatic tools.
As Dutch and English colonizers arrived their impact was felt in every aspect of Indigenous life, including the production and use of wampum. The earliest examples of indigenous-colonizer wampum trade was as a barter tool in hostage exchanges, first seen when Dutch captain Willem Dunton took four indigenous men hostage and subsequently released them in exchange for “long strings of beads.” From there wampum grew to become part of the currency system of the settler economy, especially after the 1650s as increasing conflicts with both Indigenous communities and the British made it difficult to get hard currency from Holland and they relied on wampum for trade deals. At the same time as the role of the wampum changed, so did the methods of construction. Iron tools traded from Europeans began to replace the stone ones that had traditionally been used to make wampum, significantly expediting the process as well as increasing the standardization of the beads. The change in production methods as well as the greater demand for wampum as a trade currency led to an increasing industrialization of what had once been a more artistic process as the indigenous people became more entrenched in the settler economy. The latter half of the seventeenth century brought significant cultural changes to Long Island’s Algonquian-speaking communities. Unkechaug leaders like Tobacus and Mahue fought to protect their people and land, but English entrepreneurs and officials steadily reduced their territory. By 1700, most of the Unkechaugs’ land was lost, forcing them to find ways to survive in the English economic system. |
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Asian American & Pacific Islander Month
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Native American Heritage Month
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