President Barack Obama recently signed a proclamation designating November as National Native American Heritage Month. The proclamation came just days before Obama met with tribal leaders, including Ray Halbritter (Wolf Clan), Nation Representative and CEO.

More than 400 tribal leaders attended the Tribal Nations Conference on Nov. 5, at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Obama was present for more than an hour at the beginning of the meeting, and also participated in a question and answer session with those in attendance.

“It’s incredibly impressive for a number of reasons, and mostly because of the incredible respect and attention that the president and his staff have put forward in regard to these issues in Indian Country,” Halbritter remarked.

In association with the conference, Obama directed heads of executive departments and agencies within the federal government to engage in “regular and meaningful consultation” with Indian leaders when developing policies with “tribal implications.”

“What’s very significant, I think, is that the president did say that this consultation and relationship, again, is recognizing the sovereignty of Indian nations, that it’s nation to nation, and that this can’t be just lip service as it has been for hundreds of years,” Halbritter added.

In his proclamation, dated Oct. 30, Obama credited the role Native Americans and Alaska Natives had in the history of this country.

“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 forebears.”

See the full proclamation here.

The timing of the proclamation is fitting as Oneidas pause in November to honor our veterans, to remember the anniversary of a very important treaty (The Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794), and to join the rest of the United States in remembering and celebrating the contributions of all American Indians.

What began as a turn-of-the-century effort to gain a day of recognition for American Indians is now a month-long celebration.

Facts About Native American Heritage Month
Source: Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

• Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y., persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans.”

• The annual Congress of the American Indian Association formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day in 1915. The association’s president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, Arapahoe, called upon the country to observe such a day on the second Saturday of each May. The plan was the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.

• Red Fox James, Blackfoot, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On Dec. 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 states to the White House (there is no record of a national day being proclaimed).

• The first American Indian Day was declared on the second Saturday in May, 1916, in New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September.

• In Illinois, legislators enacted an American Indian Day in 1919.

• In 1990, President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as Native American Indian Heritage Month.

• Each year since 1994, similar proclamations under variants of the name have been issued by the president.