Honoring Native American Heritage Month
A message from: Lorenley Báez, Associate Provost for Equity & Belonging
Office of Equity and Belonging
Dear Students,
Today, November 1, 2024, The New School celebrates and honors Native American Heritage Month. Since 1916, several resolutions, bills, and proclamations have been issued to honor this community, evolving from American Indian Day to Native American Awareness Week to Native American Heritage Month and National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
This is an important time to recognize the history, culture, and contributions of Native American and Indigenous communities. Such recognition also entails understanding the history of violence, oppression, and colonization inflicted against these communities, who have endured centuries of attempted erasure, broken treaties, dispossession of ancestral lands, and policies of assimilation and termination aimed at decimating Native populations and their ways of life. Despite these obstacles, we acknowledge the resilience, strength, and power of the surviving First Nations who have made significant contributions to this country and continue to thrive successfully as champions of change.
As we celebrate and honor this community, let’s begin to ground ourselves in awareness and education about Indigenous communities worldwide. I encourage you to visit the Native Land website, which maps out Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages across the globe. We acknowledge that The New School in New York City is situated on the ancestral homelands of the Lenape people. While this month in the U.S. centers on First Nations of North America, we broaden our focus to recognize Indigenous perspectives and communities worldwide as part of our global university community. Expanding our viewpoint allows for a more holistic narrative and approach toward teaching about colonization. Additionally, holistically understanding and supporting global majority communities that have been marginalized is essential to leaning into difficult conversations in order to effect change.
I invite you to our Second Annual Native American Heritage Month Mixer on Monday, November 4, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the University Center, Room 513. This will be an opportunity to connect with other students, staff, and faculty who identify with and support the First Nation and indigenous communities. Light refreshments and appetizers will be served.
I look forward to honoring this community with you!