Quick summary: November is Native Heritage Month, and this weekend, many Americans will turn their attention to the travel, family time, and turkey just around the corner. Yet it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that the Thanksgiving holiday is not cause for celebration for Indigenous communities. Today, we’ll discuss how Native stories are typically told, how it impacts our society, and what to consume instead, featuring reporting from Native News Online.
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Why the way we tell Native stories does harm
Hey, y’all,Any day of the year is a good time to honor Indigenous peoples around the globe, and Native Heritage Month in the U.S. is no exception.This month, and year round, how are you listening to and learning from Indigenous stories and voices? It probably happens less than you think, and to me, that’s partly by design. Anyone raised in a United States school is likely to have received a specifically narrow type of education about Native Americans, one that positions them wholly in the past. Even there, they are not active participants or tellers, only characters in history. Colonization was just that effective. In truth, Native lives and traditions have always been a part of this land’s present moment — long before the first European boot touched sand — and they always will be. Then why, you might ask, don’t we hear or see more than a handful of Native people in the media, in movies, in politics? Why is education, research, and discourse still so solely focused on Indigenous pasts, and so avoidant of their here and now?To answer that question, we must interrogate what telling more relevant and complete Native stories would mean in this country. It would certainly uplift representation across the board. Yet it would also force a deeper, still-needed reckoning, from classrooms to Congress, of the atrocities the U.S. has committed against Native peoples over time, and how they are still mistreated today. Only then, with a clarified reality that does not exclude Native communities from every section of the library besides history, can we move forward. This month, take the opportunity to begin or continue that work with a different kind of library: a list of timely, Indigenous-led stories from Native News Online, other URL Media partners, and more.
Learn three game-changing firsts this Native Heritage Month in under a minute, with
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producer Shreen Khan.
Featured Stories
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The SavoryByRhea blog is Rhea Fisher’s homage to Botswana’s cuisine, with each recipe paying tribute to her mother’s cooking as well. Check out her recipesin Black Voice News. →
New York City’s mayor Eric Adams is being investigated for fraud. In the latest update to the saga, Documented reports thatfederal authorities raided a hotelwhose owner is a significant donor to Adams’ campaigns, and who asked for special development favors. →
GoodGoblin.ai, an artificial intelligence program that helps college applicants refine their materials and get guidance, has released new features. The update seeks to take the service to the next level, while also aligning with guidelines on ethical artificial intelligence, according to India Currents. →
