Native American Day: Some Ideas to Celebrate

The 4th Friday of September is Native American Day. This year September 28 is a day to honor the first Americans of the United States. Here are some suggestions for how to commemorate the occassion. Stay tuned for more. I keep getting ideas, but this will get you started.

Read Catherine’s post “Native Alaskan Languages Not Endangered” for an interesting read about how languages are being preserved where she lives. There is a similar traditions of preserve languages by Native Americans in the Southwest. Here is a Web site dedicated to preserving Native American languages and culture.

Attend the San Geronimo Day at Taos Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico. It’s on September 30, just a couple days after the official Native American Day, but Taos Pueblo is worth a visit anytime. There are festivals throughout the year at one of New Mexico’s 18 pueblos. Visitors are often welcome.

Visit the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. There are three locations. The Heard Downtown has an on-going exhibit about Native Americans in the Southwest. The Heard North has an exhibit on textiles and Heard West has an exhibit on Native American art and culture in Arizona. October 12-14, there is a film festival with films about and by Native Americans. By the way, for two wonderful films in this genre, check out Pow Wow Highway and Smoke Signals. For Native American Day, you could watch those.

For an alternative outing, plan to visit a Pow Wow where Native Americans from across the U.S. gather for dancing, celebration and competitions. The link has an map with the various locations. The photo by rromin1 on stock.xchange is from a Choctaw Pow Wow.