Sherman J. Alexie, Jr. Author, Filmmaker, Poet

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NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA
NATIVE HERITAGE MONTH

• How did National American Indian and Alaska
  Native Heritage Month get started?
• At the turn of the 20th century, people began
  making proposals for a
• day to honor Native Americans.
• In 1914, Red Fox James, a member of the
  Blackfoot tribe, rode
• horseback from state to state in the hope of
  gaining support for a day
• of tribute.

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The following year, Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a
member of the Seneca tribe, persuaded the
Boy Scouts of America to designate a day of
recognition for Native Americans. New York was
the first state to observe American Indian
Day in 1916. Over the years, other states
followed suit in designating a day to honor
Native Americans. In 1976, a Senate resolution
authorized the president of the United
States to declare the week of October 10-16,
1976, as Native American Awareness Week.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1990.
How did National American Indian and Alaska
Native Heritage Month get started? (continued)
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Military History and Participation
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American Indian Medal of Honor Winners

• In the 20th century, five American Indians have
  been among those soldiers to be distinguished by
  receiving the United States highest military
  honor the Medal of Honor. Given for military
  heroism above and beyond the call of duty,
  these warriors exhibited extraordinary bravery in
  the face of the enemy and, in two cases, made the
  ultimate sacrifice for their country.
• Jack C. Montgomery. A Cherokee from Oklahoma,
  and a First Lieutenant with with 45th Infantry
  Division Thunderbirds. On 22 February 1944, near
  Padiglione, Italy, Montgomerys rifle platoon was
  under fire by three echelons of enemy forces,
  when he single-handedly attacked all three
  positions, taking prisoners in the process. As a
  result of his courage, Montgomerys actions
  demoralized the enemy and inspired his men to
  defeat the Axis troops.
• Ernest Childers. A Creek from Oklahoma, and a
  First Lieutenant with the 45th Infantry Division.
  Childers received the Medal of Honor for heroic
  action in 1943 when, up against machine gun fire,
  he and eight men charged the enemy. Although
  suffering a broken foot in the assault, Childers
  ordered covering fire and advanced up the hill,
  single-handedly killing two snipers, silencing
  two machine gun nests and capturing an enemy
  mortar observer.

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American Indian Medal of Honor Winners

• Van Barfoot. A Choctaw from Mississippi, and a
  Second Lieutenant in the Thunderbirds. On 23 May
  1944, during the breakout from Anzio to Rome,
  Barfoot knocked out two machine gun nests and
  captured 17 German soldiers. Later that same
  day, he repelled a German tank assault, destroyed
  a Nazi fieldpiece and while returning to camp
  carried two wounded commanders to safety.
• Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. A Winnebago from
  Wisconsin, and a Corporal in Company E., 19th
  Infantry Regiment in Korea. On 5 November 1950,
  Red Cloud was on a ridge guarding his company
  command post when he was surprised by Chinese
  communist forces. He sounded the alarm and
  stayed in his position firing his automatic rifle
  and point-blank to check the assault. This gave
  his company time to consolidate their defenses.
  After being severely wounded by enemy fire, he
  refused assistance and continued firing upon the
  enemy until he was fatally wounded. His heroic
  action prevented the enemy from overrunning his
  companys position and gained time for evacuation
  of the wounded.
• Charles George. A Cherokee from North Carolina,
  and Private First Class in Korea when he was
  killed on 30 November 1952. During battle,
  George threw himself upon a grenade and smothered
  it with his body. In doing so, he sacrificed his
  own life but saved the lives of his comrades.
  For this brave and selfless act, George was
  posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1954.

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Native American and Alaskan Women Veterans

• Very little is known about the contributions of
  Native American and Alaskan women to the United
  States military. The Women in Military Service
  for America Memorial Foundation is attempting to
  fill this gap by encouraging Native American and
  Alaskan women veterans to register with the
  Memorial so that their stories may be recorded
  and preserved. They are also conducting research
  on the contributions of Native American and
  Alaskan women of earlier eras.
• Historians have only recently rediscovered and
  verified the actions of an Oneida woman,
  Tyonajanegen, at the battle of Oriskany during
  the American Revolution (1775-1783).
  Tyonajanegen was married to an American Army
  officer of Dutch descent. She fought at her
  husbands side on horseback during the battle,
  loading her husbands gun for him after was shot
  in the wrist.

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Notable Native Americans
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Sherman J. Alexie, Jr.Author, Filmmaker, Poet

• Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., is a Spokane/Coeur
  dAlene Indian born and raised in the Spokane
  Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington.
  Alexie was born hydrocephalic and underwent a
  brain operation at the age of 6 months, but was
  not expected to survive. When he did live,
  doctors predicted he would live with severe
  mental retardation.. Preferring to stay inside,
  he developed a love for reading, liking Steinbeck
  as a five-year-old. Alexie planned to be a
  doctor until he fainted three time in human
  anatomy class and stumbled into a poetry
  workshop at Washington State University. He also
  attended Gonzaga University in Spokane on a
  scholarship. Alexie also received two
  prestigious fellowships. His short story, The
  Toughest Indian in the World, appeared in the New
  Yorker Magazines The Future of American
  Fiction issue.

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Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the
Cherokee Nation

• As the leader of the Cherokee people, she
  represented the second largest tribe in the
  United States, the largest being the Dine
  (Navajo) Tribe. Ms. Mankiller was the first
  female in modern history to lead a major Native
  American tribe. With an enrolled population of
  over 140,000, and an annual budget of more then
  75 million , and more than 1,200 employees
  spread over 7,000 square miles, her task may have
  been equaled to that of a chief executive officer
  of a major corporation

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BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELLU. S. Senator

• The only American Indian in Congress, Republican
  senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell is also a
  Northern Cheyenne Chief. He was elected to the
  U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado in
  1987 and has served in the U.S. Senate since
  1992. Campbell is a leader in policy dealing
  with natural resources and public lands and
  initiated legislation to found the National
  Museum of the American Indian within the
  Smithsonian Institution. A three-time U.S. Judo
  champion, Campbell was captain of the U.S.
  Olympic judo team in 1964. He is also a rancher,
  horse trainer, and jewelry designer.

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Tim GiagoPublisher, Writer

• Tim Giago was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation
  in South Dakota. As a young boy, he attended the
  Holy Rosary Indian Mission. Giago left the
  reservation after high school to join the Navy,
  where he served in the Korean War and was wounded
  in action. Afterwards, he attended San Jose
  Junior College. Giago continued his education at
  the University of Nevada at Reno and later at
  Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship from
  1990-1991. He was the first American Indian to
  be accepted into this program. He founded what
  was to become the nations largest American
  Indian newspaper, the Lakota Times, later renamed
  Indian Country Today. He launched the newspaper
  with 4,000 borrowed from a boyhood buddy,
  according to People Magazine. Giagos
  accomplishments have won him numerous honors and
  awards.

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Alaskan Artists
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Charles EdwardsCarver

• Charles Edwards is a Siberian Yupik Eskimo who is
  from the Eskimo village of Savoonga, located on
  St. Lawrence Island. Charles has been carving
  since he was a boy. He was taught traditional
  carving techniques by his uncles. Charles uses
  walrus ivory, old ivory, whale bone and walrus
  bone as carving materials from which he creates
  his artwork. Perhaps due in part to its remote
  location in the western portion of the Bering
  Sea, the St. Lawrence Island carvers have
  developed a unique, life-like style that they
  impart on their carvings. Charles produces a
  wide variety of carvings including totem poles
  carved from walrus ivory. His work is known in
  Nome and Anchorage, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles
  is the owner of one of his totems.

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Trudy KelliherMedicine Bags

• Trudy Kelliher is an Koyukon Athabascan Indian
  who is originally from the Indian Village of
  Nulato, located on the Yukon river about 200
  miles east of Nome. Trudys grandmother was a
  Shaman at Fort Yukon on the upper Yukon River.
  Trudy specializes in medicine bags and beaded
  jewelry. Her medicine bags are fashioned from
  either moose, caribou, deer or musk ox hides.
  Trudy and her husband now reside in Nome where
  she continues to create beautiful medicine bags
  and beaded jewelry.

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Wilma OsborneTraditional Clothing

• Wilma Osborne was born and raised in White
  Mountain, Alaska, a small village of 200 people
  73 miles southeast of Nome. Her great
  grandmother, grandmother and mother were all skin
  sewers. Wilma has been sewing since she was 9
  years old. Wilmas great grandmother and
  grandmother sewed all of their familys clothing.
  Clothing that fit well was detrimental to the
  survival of the individual wearing them. Well
  made gear contributed to his or her endurance as
  well as their overall being. Clothes that were
  too big or too small are straining to wear.
  Small holes or clothing that fell apart spelled
  disaster as it could lead to frostbite and even
  death in subzero conditions. As part of their
  emergency supplies, hunters always carried a
  sewing case with a needle and thread. Wilma is
  one of the most experienced skin-sewers in the
  Bering Strait region. The quality of her
  custom-fit and designed fur clothing rivals or
  exceeds comparable pieces found at major furriers
  in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

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Maurice IvanoffKnives

• Maurice Ivanoff is a Yupik Eskimo originally from
  Unalakleet, Alaska. He now resides in Elim with
  his wife and children. Maurice specializes in
  making the Ulu, the traditional Eskimo Knife.
  Ulus are prized for the cutting, skinning and
  filleting ability. Many people who have used an
  ulu often remark that once you use an ulu, you
  will never use a fillet knife again. Maurice
  learned the techniques for making ulus from his
  grandfather. In addition to making ulu knives,
  Maurice also craves full walrus mounts, that is,
  the walrus head with the carved tusks attached.

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Sourcesand links of interest

• http//www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican
  01/women.html
• http//www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq61-3.htm
• http//www.cowboy.net/native/ (Links to tribal
  homepages and American Indian/Alaska Native
  education resources in education, government, and
  arts and culture.)
• http//www.tntech.edu/history/nativam.html (A
  list of American Indian/Alaska Native history
  links from the Tennessee Technological
  University.)
• http//www.bssd.org/eskimo_art/biograph.html