Indigenous mother and child in traditional dress

The College for Creative Studies office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion raises awareness about National Native American Heritage Month in November.

On November 27, 2020, the nation celebrated Native American Heritage Day. In 2009, former President Barack Obama signed “The Native American Heritage Day Resolution,” designating the Friday after Thanksgiving as “Native American Heritage Day.” After signing H.J. Res 40 into law he stated, “It is also important for all of us to understand the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their status today, and to appreciate the contributions that First Americans have made and will continue to make to our Nation.” The resolution received unanimous support in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

On October 30, 2020, President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation designating November 2020 as National Native American Heritage Month.

As we deepen our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the College for Creative Studies respectfully acknowledges that we are on the traditional, contemporary, and ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabe – Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe/Chippewa, Odawa/Ottawa, and Potawatomi/Bodéwadmi along with their neighbors the Seneca, Delaware, Fox, Shawnee, Loups, Miami and Wyandot who maintained, and continue to preserve lifeways along Detroit’s river banks and throughout the Great Lakes region. Through signing the Treaty of Detroit in 1807, Anishinaabek tribes ceded the land now occupied by the city we stand on.  We recognize Michigan is home to 12 federally recognized tribes who continue to steward this land, in remembrance of their ancestors and thinking of future generations.

For more information, please explore the resources below that highlight local Native history, perspectives, and links to Detroit-area events.