Los Angeles Unified School District recently issued the following announcement
November is #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth. Although there are common experiences that Native Americans share, there are 574 federally recognized individual Tribal Nations in the U.S., with different cultures and languages. ⠀
They navigate and constantly raise their voices against the hyper-visibility of their culture and their existence being hyper-invisible (#WeAreStillHere). Native Americans have survived removal, attempted genocide, and forced assimilation, yet continue to experience prejudice, racism and appropriation in the U.S.⠀
How can you learn more about and honor Native Americans? Here are a few tips:⠀
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◾️ Know the land you are on. Where you rest your head was once someone else’s land. Learn what people were there, what their history is and acknowledge their care of the land. ⠀
◾️ Learn about Native issues, including the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (#MMIW), Native women’s battle to consistently be included in the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA), pipelines and how they affect Native land and how it ties to MMIW, the fight to keep sacred sites from becoming public parks, combating food insecurity on Native American reservations, and more.⠀
◾️ Appreciate – don't appropriate – Native culture. Invest in the work of Native artists, organizations, movies, and authors.⠀
◾️ Invest time in learning about the atrocities against Native Americans (you will need to look beyond our history books in school!) and look at today’s policies and laws and how they are connected.
Original source can be found here.
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