Celebrate Native American heritage by taking action

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Native American Heritage Day is on Nov. 26. Instead of celebrating an inaccurate history that damages the culture of Indigenous people, celebrate Native Americans by focusing on the tradition of connection and gratitude.

• Be part of the solution with Native American initiatives. Rock Your Mocs is a movement created to celebrate tribe individuality. The organization invites Indigenous people to wear moccasins throughout the week of Nov. 14-20.
• The same week is also the Red Shawl Campaign. Wear red to bring attention to violence committed against
• Native American people, specifically women, and children.
• Visit a museum or reservation. Reservations are not tourist attractions. They are homes for tribes and communities, but some welcome visitors and have created spaces to educate them about their history and culture. Many museums and reservations hold education events around Thanksgiving. The Minnesota History Center currently has an exhibit entitled “Our Home: Native Minnesota” that focuses on the true stories of Native communities in Minnesota. Visit All My Relations Arts, a gallery that presents contemporary American Indian artists. Hocota Ti has a public history exhibit called “Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake” that welcomes visitors to learn more about the Mdewakanton Dakota people. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa also has a cultural center and museum for visitors to learn more about their culture.
• Decolonize your celebration. Consider not using Native American decorations. Start a conversation about the history of Thanksgiving with the people you celebrate with.
• Figure out whose land you are on. Enter an address or addresses. Learn stuff.
• Celebrate Native American culture by supporting an Indigenous chef and making one of their recipes. Many of the food traditions on Thanksgiving are inspired by Indigenous people’s foods during celebratory meals. Turkey is a native bird that was available year-round. Similarly, they also ate squash and cranberries. The traditions today have come from Indigenous traditions.
• Read Native American authors. Check out a book from the display in the Randolph Campus library.
• If you shop on Black Friday, shop from stores owned by Indigenous people. Indigenous First sells products from Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs. Birchbark Books & Native Arts celebrates Indigenous writers and artists. There is also a Native Business Directory where you can find an Indigenous business for almost anything.