It’s important to celebrate Indigenous cultures, traditions, and contributions to society all year long, not just during one month or on one day of the year. If you haven’t been, well… a habit has to start somewhere! Why not commemorate Native American Heritage Day (Friday, November 26 this year) by taking action to support Indigenous people in your area?
Consider:
1) Finding out whose land you’re on today. One good starting place is Native-land.ca. You can also text (907) 312-5085 with your city or ZIP, and you will receive a text with the tribe or tribes whose homeland you’re on. Then, visit the tribe(s) website to find out more about their celebrations, challenges and goals.
2) Finding a way you can support the Tribes where you live through financial or policy support. Realrentduwamish.org, wenatchiwear.com/donate, and www.csvanw.org, are great places to start.
3) Diversifying your social media feeds (and life). Find Native activists, scientists, authors, artists, athletes, and more to follow–and support their work financially if you’re able.
4) Learning! Right now, WWRC staff is reading Where the Salmon Run by Trova Heffernan to learn about the life of the late Billy Frank, Jr (an original WWRC board member), the salmon wars, and the treaty rights of Northwest Native peoples. We also enjoy the podcast All My Relations.
What will you do to commemorate Native American Heritage Day?
The Coalition would like to acknowledge that the work we do in Washington is done on occupied land. Since time immemorial many Indigenous nations, including the 29 federally recognized Tribes in Washington and those not yet recognized, have cared for and called this land home. We are deeply grateful to these Tribes for their lasting protection of the lands and waterways on which we work, play, learn, and organize today. We encourage you to find out whose land you’re on and how to support them by exploring the Native Land Map.