Throughout November, Americans celebrate harvest, history and gratitude, which takes the form of Thanksgiving and National American Indian Heritage Month (NAIHM). Born in the 1990s, the month was created as a way to bring recognition and honor to the many contributions of the Native American people to the modern world. Though every tribe has different traditions and special times of the year, NAIHM is widely recognized as a time where tribes come together to celebrate their unique and rich histories.
Holidays surrounding Indigenous history have been contested throughout the 20th century, with state and local governments designating different days to celebrate Native heritage. New York initially made the second Saturday in May a state-wide observance, while Illinois named the fourth Friday in September a day for celebration instead. To this day, there is no singular, universally recognized way to commemorate Native History due to the motivations and discretions of each state. However, NAIHM is a widespread time for celebration of native culture, and many cultural centers, state parks and academic institutions have programming and events throughout the month.
At Northwestern, the Bridge Center has a range of events designed to engage and educate students about this important month. As always with the historical months, they have slides on the TVs around campus highlighting cultural heroes that are influential to the people group being recognized. The first person they chose to showcase was Crazy Horse; a Lakota war leader who was influential in the fight against white settlers. One of the benefits of NAIHM is that so many of the famous figures are locationally proximate to NW. Crazy Horse, for instance, is from South Dakota. The rest of the heroes will be posted throughout the month, both around campus and on the Bridge Center Instagram. In addition to the virtual information, they are also hosting several in-person events, which include a talk by Nancy Gilis about Native women, and an interview of Michael Smith of the Winnebago tribe. This is Gillis’s second appearance at NW during NAIHM, as she spoke last year about some of the historical legislation about the Plains tribes. These events make Native history accessible and details of those events can be found in Bridge Center newsletters and Instagram posts.
Another opportunity to learn more about Native History in Sioux County is the Dutch American Heritage Museum, which has historical information about indigenous tribes before colonial encounters. Furthermore, Dr. Rebecca Koerselman of the history department teaches a Native American history course every three years, which takes an in-depth look at the history of the Americas and the legacy of Native people. The books required for the class can be found on the course catalog if any student is interested in reading Indigenous literature, memoirs and historical accounts. Lincoln Siebert, one of the students that took the class when it was last offered, shares his takeaways about the importance of Native holidays. “Native history is important to study and understand because we live on Native land and even live in a county named after a Native tribe,” Siebert said. “Second, as a nation we would be neglecting our duty if we did not recognize, admit and learn from our past mistakes.” Events such as the ones offered by NW are great ways to achieve both.
Whenever NW enters into a new historical month, the Bridge Center always takes the lead with events and information. Very rarely do other departments on campus take the initiative to celebrate or educate, aside from the DeWitt Learning Commons and the humanities department. Celebrating and honoring different people groups is a responsibility that campus leaves up to the Bridge Center, instead of taking it upon themselves. As 2025 approaches, so does another year’s worth of historical months. Organizations such as the Bridge Center and DeWitt Learning Commons will continue to educate and celebrate, but it remains unseen if other departments of campus will follow suit.
