Native American Heritage Month: November 1–30, 2022

Below is a thoughtful and timely contribution from Professor Kathleen A. McKee in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Professor McKee is an associate professor and Director of Experiential Learning in our School of Law. Her parents are from different tribes, and she has a primary tribal affiliation of Missouri Cherokee. She has also been active in Native American concerns in her professional journey, having served in roles such as an attorney for the Indian Claims Commission, as a task force analyst for the American Indian Policy Review Commission, a program specialist for the USOE/Office of Indian Education, and an education specialist for the Institute for the Development of Indian Law.

Regent Law Professor Kathleen A. McKee, Esq.

Recognition of Native American Heritage has its origins in what may be described as a “grass roots” effort. Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a member of the Seneca Tribe, persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for what he referred to as the “First Americans.” In 1915, at the annual meeting of the Congress of the American Indian Association members adopted a plan for American Indian Day. The Association adopted a proclamation which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day.[1] The following year, the first American Indian Day in a state was declared by the Governor of New York.[2]  Several other states followed suit in 1919. In 1990 President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Since that time, proclamations have continued and have been broadened to include Alaskan Natives and Hawaiian Natives. 

The relationship of Native Americans to the United States government is a complex one. It has been both conflicted and cooperative. There are 570 federally recognized tribes in the United States. These tribes enjoy a special relationship with the federal government because of treaties, federal legislation, and presidential executive orders. That relationship results in tribes dealing directly with the federal government rather than as subordinate governmental units subject to the authority of state governments. It also qualifies these tribes for programs established solely for the benefit of federally recognized tribes.

There are also approximately 200 tribes that are not federally recognized. Many of these tribes enjoy a unique relationship with the states in which they are based. For example, until the enactment of recent federal legislation, many of the Virginia Indian tribes were not federally recognized.[3] However, because of a relationship dating back to the 1677 signing of the Treaty of Middle Plantation, the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes honor the Treaty each year in November by presenting the current Governor of the Commonwealth with a deer and other gifts as a symbolic tax payment. 

We encounter the influence of Native Americans in our culture on a day-to-day basis. There are many words in the English language that are derived from Native American languages such as “squash,” “opossum,” “chocolate,” “hammock,” “canoe,” and “kayak.”[4] There are place names and battlefields throughout the United States whose names are derived from Native American languages. 

Native Americans have a proud history of service to the United States. Ely Samuel Parker, a member of the Tonawanda Seneca Tribe was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War. As adjutant and secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant, he wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox.[5] Ira Hamilton Hayes, a member of the Gila River Pima Tribe, has been immortalized in a photograph as one of the soldiers raising the United States flag on Suribachi’s peak at Iwo Jima during World War II.[6] During World War II code talkers from the Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, and other tribes used their tribal languages to send secret communications on the battlefield.[7] The Germans were unable to break the codes. 

Service of Native Americans has not been limited to the military. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe served in both the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993 and in the United State Senate from 1993 to 2005. In 2002 John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation became the first Native American in space. This October NASA astronaut Nicole Mann became the first Native American woman in space. 

Many different religious denominations have served the Native American community. The Quakers established missions in the mid-Atlantic Native American communities, the Baptists in the southeastern states, the Franciscans in the southwest, and the Jesuits in the mountain-plains tribes. Many of the churches established in these communities remain in use today. How pleasing it is to hear a recording of the hymn based on the Lord’s Prayer sung in one of these churches in a Native language reminding us that we are all God’s children.

[1] See “Native American Heritage Month,” https://nativeamerican heritagemonth.gov/about/, p.1

[2] Id.

[3] In January 2018 the president of the United States signed into law legislation which granted federal recognition to six of the Virginia Indian Tribes.

[4] See Emily Petsko, “Eleven common English words from Native American Languages,” https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/563419/native-american-names-in-english.

[5] See National Park Service, “Ely Parker-chief, Lawyer, Engineer, and Brigadier General.” https://www.nps.gov/apco/parker.htm.

[6] See Gina Dimuro, “Ira Hayes Raised the Flag At Iwo Jima –But His Story ended In Tragedy,” https://allthatsinteresting.com/ira-hayes.

[7] See “American Indian Code Talkers,” https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers.