This day in history: November 1

November 1, 2022 begins National Native American Heritage Month.

In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994.

National Native American Heritage Month website

This video from a previous PBS Newshour episode highlights how for decades, Native American children were forcibly removed from their families and lands to attend boarding schools where English was mandatory and their own languages were forbidden. But in 1979, a small Mohawk tribe in upstate New York formed The Akwesasne Freedom School, where today Mohawk children continue to learn their native language and culture.