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| Native American Heritage Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | United States of America |
| Type | Historical |
| Significance | A day in honor of Native Americans |
| Date | Day after U.S. Thanksgiving |
| 2023 date | November 24 |
| 2024 date | November 29 |
| 2025 date | November 28 |
| 2026 date | November 27 |
| Frequency | annual |
Native American Heritage Day is a civil holiday observed on the day after Thanksgiving in the United States.
Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, New York, advocated for an American Indian Day in the 1910s and persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to take a day to commemorate the Native American culture in 1912. [1] It was recognized annually for three years. In 1915, the annual Congress of American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kansas, formally approved a plan for a Native American Day. [1] The president, Sherman Coolidge, an Arapaho, called upon the country to observe the day. Coolidge made a proclamation on September 28, 1915, [1] which made the second Saturday of May as the first official Native American Day. New York became the first state to recognize Native American Day on the second Saturday of May in 1916. [1] Other states during later chose the fourth Friday in September, Columbus Day, to celebrate the day, including Illinois in 1919. [2]
In 1986, Congress passed a law requesting that President Ronald Reagan declare the week of November 23, "American Indian Week". [3] President Reagan honored the request with Proclamation 5577, which recognized the contributions of American Indians to the country. [3] Shortly after "Native American Week" in 1990, Congress requested that November be declared "National Native American Heritage Month" [3] . President George H. W. Bush accepted this request with Proclamation 6230. [3] Subsequent Novembers were recognized as National Native American Heritage month as well.
In 2008, Congress passed a law signed by President George W. Bush making the Friday after Thanksgiving (United States) National Native American Heritage Day. [3] [4]
Some individual states have also taken legislative action to recognize this day. For example, Maryland established this day in 2008 under the name American Indian Heritage Day. [5] The Washington state legislature approved a similar measure in 2013. [6]
Native American Heritage Day has faced heavy criticism from Native Americans, as the date of the holiday is seen by many as an insult or in poor taste to Indigenous heritage and culture. [7] Thanksgiving is known as the National Day of Mourning for many Native Americans, as they believe it celebrates events correlated with the displacement and murder of Natives. [8] Ned Blackhawk, a professor at Yale University, echoed these sentiments. [9]
Another criticism is that Native American Heritage Day falls on Black Friday, which is seen as a day that tends to celebrate capitalism, greed, and materialism. [7]
Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War. In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by the victorious Union Army, or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed.
Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492 [OS]. On his return in 1493, he moved his coastal base of operations 70 miles east to the island of Hispaniola, what is now the Dominican Republic and established the settlement of La Isabela, the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Americas.
Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which also occur on the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
German-American Day is a holiday in the United States, observed annually on October 6 under Pub. L. 100–104, 101 Stat. 721. It celebrates German-American heritage and commemorates the founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683.
Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance that occurs on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer who, in approximately 1000, led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on the continent of North America.
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is normally observed on September 17, the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia. The United States Congress designated September 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on February 29, 1952, by joint resolution. It begins Constitution Week in the United States, which continues through September 23.
[[Archivo:Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans_by_county.png|link=https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans_by_county.png%7Cthumb%7C400x400px%7CProportion of Hispanics and Latinos in each county of the United according to the United States Census in 2020.]] National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually observed from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic culture to the nation's achievements, culture, and history.
Native American Day is a holiday observed in several US states in celebration of Native American culture. In California and Nevada, the holiday is designated on the fourth Friday of September, whereas in South Dakota and Wisconsin, it falls on the second Monday of October. Within each of these states, Native American Day honors the cultural contributions of Native American communities to the respective state's history, as well as to the overall country. The state of Washington celebrates Native American Heritage Day on the Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in November. The state of Tennessee observes a similar American Indian Day each year on the fourth Monday of September. President George W. Bush signed into law legislation introduced by Congressman Joe Baca (D-Calif.), to designate the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day.
Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8, it is observed during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday one week earlier than normal to the second-to-last Thursday of November rather than the last Thursday of November, believing that doing so would help boost the economy by creating an extra seven days of Christmas shopping. This led to much upheaval and protest, causing some to deride the holiday as Franksgiving. The term Franksgiving, a portmanteau of Franklin and Thanksgiving, was coined by Atlantic City mayor Charles D. White in 1939. In late 1941, Congress approved and Roosevelt signed a proclamation to set Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.
The National Thanksgiving Proclamation was the first presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving in the United States. At the request of Congress, President George Washington declared Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. A National Proclamation of Thanksgiving had been issued by the Continental Congress in November of 1777.
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Outside the United States, it is sometimes called American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions. The modern national celebration dates to 1863 and has been linked to the Pilgrims 1621 harvest festival since the late 19th century. As the name implies, the theme of the holiday generally revolves around giving thanks with the centerpiece of most celebrations being a Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil, Germany and the Philippines. It is also observed in the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year. Various similarly named harvest festival holidays occur throughout the world during autumn. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.
On August 3, 1990, President of the United States George H. W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. The bill read in part that "The President has authorized and requested to call upon Federal, State and local Governments, groups and organizations and the people of the United States to observe such month with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities". This landmark bill honoring America's tribal people represented a major step in the establishment of this celebration which began in 1976 when a Cherokee/Osage Indian named Jerry C. Elliott-High Eagle authored Native American Awareness Week legislation the first historical week of recognition in the nation for native peoples. This led to 1986 with then President Ronald Reagan proclaiming November 23–30, 1986, as "American Indian Week".
This page is a timeline for when various municipalities, universities, and states in the United States have officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month is celebrated by proclamation of the President and Congress in the United States to honor the achievements and contributions of Italian immigrants and their descendants living in the United States, particularly in the arts, science, and culture. This proclamation was led by the Italian senator Tate Downs. Events are held throughout the month to celebrate and educate the public about Italian-American history and culture. It was first celebrated in 1989. The heritage month is in October to coincide with Columbus Day, the American national holiday traditionally celebrated on October 12, now celebrated on the second Monday in October, and Leif Erikson day on October 9. Heritage Months are usually proclaimed by nations to celebrate centuries of contributions by a group to a country.
Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an official city and state holiday in various localities. It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It is celebrated as an alternative to Columbus Day, citing the lasting harm Indigenous tribes suffered because of Columbus's contributions to the European colonization of the Americas.