Native American Heritage Month

According to the National Congress of American Indians, "The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges."

Some of the reasons Indigenous communities celebrate this year:

• Deb Haaland become the 1st Native American Interior Secretary
• Chuck F Sams III of Oregon became the 1st Native American to lead the National Park Service
• Oregon recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day beginning in 2021
• The inclusion of Native curriculum in K-12 classrooms

Some of the challenges facing Indigenous communities in Oregon include:

The Warm Spring Tribe's fight for drinkable water since 2019

• The Chúush Fund: Water for Warm Springs

• The cost of clean water in Warm Springs (April 10, 2019)

• Oregon tribes hope infrastructure law means they’ll finally get clean drinking water (Nov. 17, 2021)

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (#MMIW)

• Addressing the Epidemic of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (March 6, 2020)
• The [Corvallis] Advocate talks to Luhui Whitebear about missing and murdered Indigenous women (February 27, 2021)
• Combating the other epidemic (March 17, 2021)
• Efforts to address missing, killed Indigenous women falter in Oregon despite new law (May 5, 2021)

The impact of Covid-19 on Native communities

• COVID-19's tragic effect on American Indians: A state-by-state analysis (October 7, 2020)
• COVID-19's toll on Oregon's tribal elders imperils preservation of Native languages (July 7, 2021)

The dark history of Indian Boarding Schools and the Chemawa Indian School in Salem

• Senators Wyden, Merkley call for inspector general investigation of Oregon's Chemawa Indian School (October 25, 2021)
• Study: 270 Native students died at Oregon boarding schools (October 21, 2021)
• Chemawa Indian School leaders speak on past investigations, new directions (March 16, 2020)

Read the works of Native American authors

Check out the books/ebooks list in this libguide to see some of our newest holdings of titles by Native American authors. Some popular authors whose books we have copies of includes Tommy Orange, Joy Harjo, and Louise Erdrich.

Support Native-owned businesses

The Oregon Native American Chamber maintains a list of Native-owned businesses in Oregon. Other sites, like Beyond Buckskin have also compiled lists of Native-owned businesses throughout the United States.

Many businesses and corporations use phrases like 'Native-inspired' when describing products that take indigenous aesthetics and imagery and profit off of it. To fight back against Indigenous appropriation, groups like 'Eighth Generation' raise awareness of Native artists through their 'Inspired Natives' program.

"Support Inspired Natives, not Native Inspired"

STATISTICS

• Indigenous Women (girls +) murdered 10x higher than all other ethnicities.

• Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous Women (Centers for Disease Control).

• More than 4 out of 5 Indigenous Women have experienced violence (84.3%) (National Institute of Justice Report).

• More than half Indigenous Women experience sexual violence (56.1%).

• More than half Indigenous Women have been physically abused by their intimate partners (55.5 percent).

• less than half of Indigenous Women have been stalked in their lifetime (48.8 percent).

• Indigenous Women are 1.7 times more likely than Anglo-American women to experience violence. 

• Indigenous Women are 2xs more likely to be raped than Anglo-American white women. 

• Murder rate of Indigenous Women is 3xs higher than Anglo-American women.