Native American Cultural Heritage

In 1986, Congress passed S.J. Resolution 390 to create “Native American Indian Heritage Week.” Four years later, the week-long celebration became a national heritage month celebrated in November, and was amended in 2008 to include the celebration of Alaskan Natives. (source: United States Senate)

2023 Events

Honoring the Past & Planning for the Future: Indigenous Perspectives on Library and Information Sciences
Friday, November 3, 2023 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Pacific Time

The San José State University School of Information hosted the the Native American Heritage Symposium, which will highlight challenges Natives have faced in the past and share opportunities to prepare for the future through funding and other resources.

Read more about the symposium and its keynote speakers, and access the video of the symposium below.

Past Symposia

Honoring the Historical and Current Lives of Indigenous People
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Pacific Time

In honor of Native American Heritage Month 2022, the SJSU iSchool brought together several Indigenous community leaders to have a discussion on the relationships between libraries and Indigenous communities during the online symposium, “Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: History, Culture, and Experience. Honoring the Historical and Current Lives of Indigenous People.” Throughout the presentations and Q&A, the speakers talked about how libraries can better understand Native American communities as it relates to their own personal experiences.

“Don’t rely on somebody else’s expertise. That’s telling your students in the community, ‘I don’t care enough about your culture and your language and your literature to care enough about it to include it. I’m just so busy, and everything else is so important but yours is not.’ If you include those pieces of literature, if you include the space in the curriculum and the time, and especially in the programming, you’re saying this is valuable enough that I’m taking that time.”

– Kim Sellers, Associate Professor at UNC Pembroke

Bridging the Past and Future: Improving Library Services for the Native American Community

In November 2021, the SJSU iSchool hosted a discussion on how libraries can successfully acknowledge and assist Native Americans while also tackling challenges that community members face through the symposium, “Bridging the Past and Future: Improving Library Services for the Native American Community.” The keynote speakers  and panelists talked about the importance of effectively communicating with Native Americans, breaking down false assumptions about Native Americans, and including Indigenous materials in library collections.

Library and Information Science Best Practices

Best Practices from “Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: History, Culture, and Experience”:

• Do not just try to understand a community’s perspective, but show that you value them. Research organizations that have already been doing work to uplift Indigenous community members, talk to tribal leaders, or even collaborate with local museums.
• Remember that valuing and creating space for Native American communities does not solely exist during the time of November.
• Go out and meet Indigenous people where they are at. Talk to them and understand their needs because you can’t meet their needs if you don’t know their needs.
• Recognize the difference between “words of truth” and “words of convenience.”
• Ask yourself: “Are my library’s collections stereotyping Native people? Are certain resources placed in a way that may be inaccessible for the general public to learn about Indigenous communities?”

Best Practices from “Bridging the Past and Future: Improving Library Services for the Native American Community”:

• Add more Native American items to library collections
• Library staff need to be more culturally-competent when welcoming Native Americans to the library space.
• Establish effective educational services that can benefit the Native American community.

Community Profiles

• Creating Space for Indigenous Materials with Brandon Castle
• Preserving Indigenous Latine Culture with Briana Alvino
• Lizette Cabrera on Cultural Perspectives in the Library Environment

Professional Associations

• Reading Nation Waterfall

• Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission
• Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
• American Indian Library Association
• American Indian College Fund
• National Congress of American Indians
• Native American Rights Fund

Bibliography

SJSU iSchool Articles:

• Indigenous Community Leaders in Libraries Today
• Seeking Immortality Alongside the Northern Cheyenne Native Community

“I have the opportunity to be around my culture and be at the forefront of the next generation of young Cheyenne’s who are entering leadership positions. Being in this role allows me to interview and record elders as they share personal stories and traditional songs in our Cheyenne language.”

– Chloe Ortega, Cultural Outreach and Ethnographic Media Specialist for Chief Dull Knife College

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Librarians and Indigenous Peoples
• Dr. Anthony Chow Appointed to the Little Free Library National Board
• Pushing Forward with Native American Literacy and Libraries

Webcasts:

• Bridging the Past and Future: Improving Library Services for the Native American Community

Videos