- Amphitheater Public Schools
- Teacher Resources
- Native American Heritage Month
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November is National Native American Heritage Month
The month of November is recognized as National Native American Heritage Month. In 1990 President George H. W. Bush designated November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Since 1994, every November has been recognized as such. There are many Native events scheduled throughout the month. We’ll provide community event dates, as they become available to our NAE program.
In honor of November being recognized as National Native American Heritage Month, the NAEP recognizes one week as "Native American Heritage Awareness Week”, where NAEP hosts several cultural events every day for our students and their families. We are requesting participation through our social media Facebook Page throughout the week. Each day there will be a cultural expression, activity, or event theme for your opportunity to participate. If on social media, please add a photo of your participation with the hashtag #AmphiNAHAW.
- Monday, November 13th – Virtual Cultural Movie Night, 6:00-7:00 pm
The NAEP will be hosting a virtual cultural movie night (via Zoom) of Native films made by Native producers for our students and families. There will be a showing of the short films “Ghosts” and “Origins” by Jeffrey Palmer and sharing oral storytelling by N. Scott Momaday. “Ghosts” is the story of three Kiowa boys who escape from a government boarding school in 1891. "Origins" represents a grandfather and grandson's perspectives of Kiowa (Native American) history and storytelling, which together form a visual document tracing the director's ancestral beginnings. N. Scott Momaday shares Kiowa stories that explain natural phenomena like Devil’s Tower National Monument in Utah, the big dipper constellation, and the origin of tornadoes through ancient stories in a series of animated videos from the PBS American Masters film Words from a Bear: N. Scott Momaday. - Tuesday, November 14th
- – NativEducate: “Mascama Ili Uusim Mahtawapo”
“Education where little children are taught.” (Mascama = Tohono O’odham word for Education. Ili Uusim Mahtawapo = Yoeme language for Where little children are taught.)- Share THREE (3) facts of the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes (or any of the 574 tribal nations) with a teacher, classmates or family, whether online or in-person. Examples can be:
- Express knowledge about the culture and traditions
- Tell a story about traditional homelands
- You may also read a Native-themed book and share.
- Share THREE (3) facts of the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes (or any of the 574 tribal nations) with a teacher, classmates or family, whether online or in-person. Examples can be:
- – Virtual Frybread 101 Recording
- Recording will be emailed out to parents and students.
- In collaboration with the Raytheon American Indian Network (RAIN), LaTanya Goh, provided a workshop about the much-favored Native American frybread. There was a lesson taught about the history of how frybread came to be in the Navajo culture. Ms. Goh then share her personal recipe for making frybread at home. Each attendee was given instruction on how to make their own dough and how to cook the frybread.
- Recording will be emailed out to parents and students.
- – NativEducate: “Mascama Ili Uusim Mahtawapo”
- Wednesday, November 15th
- – Walk Your Mocs, All Day
- Wear your moccasins/traditional footwear OR wear a turquoise awareness ribbon with PRIDE throughout the day.
- – Native Pride Afterschool Program, 2:30-3:30 PM
- The Native Pride program is a collaboration between the NAEP and the Tucson Indian Center that provides students with hands-on lessons and activities. Native Pride meets every other Wednesday.
- – Virtual Tradish Delish - Three Sisters Recording
- Recording will be emailed out to parents and students.
- The video will feature traditional foods focused on The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters are represented by corn, beans, and squash and they’re an important facet of Indigenous culture and foodways. They’re planted in a symbiotic triad where beans are planted at the base of the corn stalks. The stalks offer climbing bean vines support as they reach for sunlight from the earth. The beans, in turn, pump beneficial nitrogen back into the soil, fertilizing the corn and squash, while the squash's broad, spiny leaves protect the bean plants from predatory animals. The Three Sisters also offer spiritual connection and appear in mythology across tribes, from the Hopis of the Southwest to the Oneidas of the Midwest and the Iroquois in the Northeast.
- – Walk Your Mocs, All Day
- Thursday, November 16th – Family Cultural Night, 6:00-8:00 PM
To continue promoting cultural awareness and student/family participation, this year, we have once again partnered with the Tucson Indian Center to bring the Family Cultural Night that will be held IN-PERSON. The Tucson Indian Center will be providing cultural activities for our students and their families. Activities will include cultural games, traditional foods/healthy eating, archery demo, and pottery/basket weaving/beadwork activities. - Friday, November 17th
- – “Traditional Dress to Impress” Day, All Day
- Where ever you are! Wear your moccasins/traditional footwear with your traditional attire/regalia OR wear a turquoise awareness ribbon with PRIDE throughout the day.
- – SUSD Native American Heritage Celebration, 5:30 – 8:00 pm
- Our sister NAEP at Sunnyside School District has invited our AUSD NAEP to be a part of their celebration event for Native American Heritage Month. NAEP will have an informational table at the event. Feel free to stop by for an enjoyable evening with other Native families and community.
- – “Traditional Dress to Impress” Day, All Day
- Saturday, November 18th – TIC Native American Family Wellness Day, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
The Tucson Indian Center will be holding a Native American Family Wellness Day. The NAEP will also have a resource table at this event. Join TIC as they celebrate Native American Heritage Month along with promoting Diabetes Prevention Awareness Month with a "Rock your Mocs or Chancs" Fun Run/Walk starting at 8:00 am. Registration at 7:30 am.
Thanksgiving Resources - From a Native Perspective
Please note, this is for educational purposes only.
For the younger generation of Native Americans across the nation, Thanksgiving can be a conflicting perspective. For some, it is a remembrance of the horrific massacre that was bestowed upon the Wampanoag people and the feast celebrating this massacre. The United American Indians of New England meet each year at Plymouth Rock on Cole's Hill for a Day of Mourning. They gather at the feet of a statue of Grand Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag to remember and reflect in the hope that America will never forget.
For others, Western religion meshed within Native culture may create an even greater conflict. Native households each have their own distinct tradition during Thanksgiving and whether they celebrate or not. It is encouraged to assist in educating others about the history of Native peoples during that time. - Monday, November 13th – Virtual Cultural Movie Night, 6:00-7:00 pm