November is Native American Heritage Month, and it was established to recognize Native Americans as the first people of this continent and to celebrate their cultural heritage and contributions to our nation. Back in 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Native American Heritage Day Resolution bill, designating the Friday after Thanksgiving as “Native American Heritage Day.” He is quoted as saying: “It is also important for all of us to understand the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their status today, and to appreciate the contributions that First Americans have made and will continue to make to our Nation.”

However, it’s interesting to note that the original bill was supported by only 184 out of 567 recognized tribes. Brian Perry, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and a Native Hope ambassador, expressed his opinion on this bill: “As a Native American, I feel slighted. The day after Thanksgiving? Almost an afterthought. With November being Native American Heritage Month, there are 28 other days to select from with of course Thanksgiving having its long-established day to itself. Why must we take a backseat to Thanksgiving? Why not the day before Thanksgiving?”  I couldn’t agree more. Native American Heritage Day has to share the limelight with Black Friday, a day where we’re all assaulted with our nation’s mad obsession with consumerism and holiday shopping. 

Black Friday hardly has any connections to Native American culture or history, and it’s important to point out that the real story behind Thanksgiving is actually quite dark and brutal.  First, it was disease and politics that shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of our national holiday.  When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, the Wampanoagswelcomed their new neighbors as possible allies against their rivals, the Narragansetts. Also, the Wampanoags had a century of contact with Europeans before the Mayflower set sail to the New World, and those encounters consisted of bloody clashes and slave raiding by Europeans. For 50 years, the alliance between the Europeans and the Wampanoags was strained by colonial land expansion, the spread of disease, and the exploitation of natural resources on the Wampanoag territory. During the Great Dying of 1616 to 1619, smallpox brought by European traders spread like wildfire, leaving the Wampanoag and their neighbors to deal with the massive numbers of their dead. Then from 1675-1678, the Great Narragansett War (Or King Phillip’s War) ignited, devastating the Wampanoag people and setting the stage for European dominance of North America in the many years to come. Many of us of European descent are brought up with the image of happy Pilgrims and Indians sharing a big feast on Thanksgiving, however, Wampanoags today remember the arrival of the Pilgrims as a day of deep mourning, rather than a moment of giving thanks.

I do applaud US legislators for authoring the Native American Heritage Day bill, but we need to do better. Native Americans have suffered so much at the hands of colonialism and European expansion: Death, disease, the theft of their homelands, the list is endless, and it’s heart-breaking. That’s why I’m encouraged by whispers of New Mexico’s Deb Haaland’s possible appointment to the Department of the Interior.  Ms. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo people, a 35th generation New Mexican, and not the usual political crony backed by super PACS and oligarchs. When she first ran for the House in 2018, she said that she wanted to make a difference as the first Native American woman elected to Congress, and stated that Washington had “never heard a voice like mine.” She also wanted the public to know that her struggles as a single mother would encourage her to fight for others in poverty. President-elect Joe Biden has revealed a historic list of cabinet appointees, including the first Latino head of the Department of Homeland Security, the first woman to head the intelligence community, and the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.  If Rep. Deb Haaland is chosen and confirmed, she would be the first Native American in history to lead the Interior Department.  The appointment is responsible for the management of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as the conservation of many federal lands, natural resources, and oversees everything from parks to Native American reservations. This appointment, should it come to fruition, would be a historic step in the right direction to truly advocate for Native American rights. And it’s about time.

The Lakota People’s Law Project has initiated a petition supported by more than 120 tribal leaders in favor of appointing Rep. Deb Haaland to this post. The petition reads: “Naming a Native American to lead the Department of the Interior honors the sacrifice Native tribes have made for the growth of our country, as well as rewards them for their participation in our democracy.” The petition also states: “Most importantly, it provides this important leadership role to a group that culturally is best suited to protect our natural resources in a sustainable and honorable manner.”

I hope that Deb Haaland would be considered for this historic appointment. Today, on Native American Heritage Day, it’s time to acknowledge the long history of Native American disenfranchisement in this country and choose a person who can best represent Native American rights and interests in Washington. Although New Mexico will lose a fantastic congresswoman, our nation would gain so much more with her appointment, and I hope it will open up new avenues for Native American representation at all levels of government. 

Sources:

1. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thanksgiving-myth-and-what-we-should-be-teaching-kids-180973655/

2. https://blog.nativehope.org/native-american-heritage-day

3. https://action.lakotalaw.org

4. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/527285-who-is-rep-debra-haaland-a-potential-candidate