University Libraries

By Mandy Shannon

Since 1994, each November has been designated to recognize the achievements and contributions of Indigenous peoples across America. Early celebrations and recognition started with grassroots movements. Under the guidance of Dr. Arthur C. Parker, an archaeologist and museum director with ties to the Seneca Nation of Western New York, the Boy Scouts of America designated a day to celebrate “First Americans” for three years in the early 20th century. 

While various states created Native American heritage commemorations starting in 1915, the first national designation came in 1990 under the title National American Indian Heritage Month.Though the name has varied over time, November has received this designation by proclamation every year since 1994.

Join the University of Dayton Libraries in celebrating National Native American Heritage Month through exploration of the rich and varied culture and history of Native Americans. The library guide on Native American and Indigenous Peoples Resources includes a variety of readings, articles and selected collections. Additional resources are provided below.

Books

These titles are available to access or borrow from Roesch Library. Alumni and friends can find these titles at their local libraries.

• Misrepresentation and Silence in United States History Textbooks: The Politics of Historical Oblivion, by Mneesha Gellman — This open-access book investigates how representation of Native Americans and Mexican-origin im/migrants takes place in high school history textbooks. Gellman illustrates that while representation and accurate information of nonwhite perspectives improves over time, the same limited tropes tend to be recycled from one textbook to the next. This book argues for an innovative rethinking of U.S. history curricula to consider which stories are told and which perspectives are represented
• The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, by Ned Blackhawk — Indigenous history is essential to understanding the evolution of modern America, contends Blackhawk, who interweaves five centuries of Native and non-native histories from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late 20th century.
• Catholicism and Native Americans in Early North America: Parish, Church, and Mission, edited by Kathleen Deagan — This book explores the ways the Catholic Church negotiated the founding of a Catholic society in colonial America, beginning in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. Although the church was deeply involved in many aspects of daily life and institutional organization, the book underscores the tensions inherent in creating and sustaining a Catholic tradition in an unfamiliar and socially diverse population.
• Indigenous Borderlands: Native Agency, Resilience, and Power in the Americas, edited by Joaquín Rivaya-Martínez — This book covers a wide chronological and geographical span from the 16th-century U.S. South to 20th-century Bolivia and gathers leading scholars from the United States and Latin America. This work significantly recasts general understanding of the roles of Native agents in constructing Indigenous borderlands in the era of European imperialism.
• Indigenous Audibilities: Music, Heritage, and Collections in the Americas, by Amanda Minks — This book brings together theories of collection, voice, media, writing and recording to challenge the transparency of archives as a historical source. It presents a social-historical method of listening, reading and thinking beyond the referentiality of archived texts; in the process, it uncovers neglected genealogies of cultural music research in the Americas

Other websites to explore

• Smithsonian Institution’s Indigenous Voices — Part of the Recovering Voices program from the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and the Asian Pacific American Center, this collection presents images, texts and recordings in support of the effort to sustain and revive spoken Native American languages.
• National Archives’ Native American Heritage Month — The National Archives holds a vast collection of U.S. government records relating to Native Americans from 1774 through the mid-1990s. These include original treaties; records from Indian schools; Indian Census rolls; and Bureau of Indian Affairs records.
• Native American Heritage Month — Find more information about the history and development of National Native American Heritage Month and explore additional sites.

— Mandy Shannon is an associate professor and director of teaching, research and engagement in the University Libraries.

Image credit: Crumbo, Woody, Artist. Eagle dancerleft / Crumbo, ca. 1952. Photograph. Library of Congress. https://www.nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ExhibitsandCollections.html