National Native American Heritage Month Recognition
November is the official month we dedicate to honoring Native Americans and celebrating the rich cultures, traditions, histories and important contributions of Native people. While we honor and celebrate individuals of Native American ancestry every day in our classrooms and across our schools in the AAPS, during November, we explore and deepen our collective awareness and understanding through rich art, literature and other cultural and learning connections.
What began at the turn of the century as an effort to gain recognition for the significant contributions of the first Americans to the establishment of our nation has resulted in the month of November being designated to raise awareness about the unique history of our Native peoples and their strength and resiliency. It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation.
Native American roots are deeply embedded in the fabric of our country. The term 'Native American' includes more than 500 diverse groups with vast differences in geographic location, language and traditional practices.
It is important to acknowledge that the Ann Arbor Public Schools campuses are located on lands of the Anishinaabeg and Wyandot, which were ceded under Article 1 of the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. These lands continue to be the homeland of many indigenous people, and through these words of acknowledgment, we seek to reaffirm and respect their contemporary and ancestral ties to the land and to recognize our benefit from these lands and their many contributions to the Ann Arbor Public Schools and to our Ann Arbor community.*
The Bureau of Indian Affairs shares that this year’s theme is Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity. Tribal sovereignty ensures that any decisions about Tribes with regard to their property and citizens are made with their participation and consent.
We are a stronger school community as we honor, embrace and celebrate our diversity, continually create a culture of belonging for all and value the connections that unite us as an inclusive Ann Arbor community.
Sincerely,
Jeanice Kerr Swift
Superintendent of Schools
Ann Arbor Public Schools
*Land acknowledgment statement gratefully adapted from The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library.
(Sources: Collaboration of Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institute, U.S. National Archives, National Endowment for the Arts, National Park Service, National Congress of American Indians - NCAI)
