II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1852 

To designate the Friday after Thanksgiving of each year as ‘‘Native American 

Heritage Day’’ in honor of the achievements and contributions of Native 

Americans to the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2007 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. AKAKA, and Mr. STEVENS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To designate the Friday after Thanksgiving of each year 

as ‘‘Native American Heritage Day’’ in honor of the 

achievements and contributions of Native Americans to 

the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Her5 itage Day Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) Native Americans are the descendants of 

2 the aboriginal, indigenous, native people who were 

3 the original inhabitants of and who governed the 

4 lands that now constitute the United States; 

5 (2) Native Americans have volunteered to serve 

6 in the United States Armed Forces and have served 

7 with valor in all of the Nation’s military actions 

8 from the Revolutionary War through the present 

9 day, and in most of those actions, more Native 

10 Americans per capita served in the Armed Forces 

11 than any other group of Americans; 

12 (3) Native American tribal governments devel13 oped the fundamental principles of freedom of 

14 speech and separation of governmental powers that 

15 were a model for those that form the foundation of 

16 the United States Constitution; 

17 (4) the Founding Fathers based the provisions 

18 of the Constitution on the unique system of democ19 racy of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, 

20 which divided powers among the branches of govern21 ment and provided for a system of checks and bal22 ances; 

23 (5) Native Americans have made distinct and 

24 significant contributions to the United States and 

25 the rest of the world in many fields, including agriVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:26 Jul 24, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1852.IS S1852

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1 culture, medicine, music, language, and art, and Na2 tive Americans have distinguished themselves as in3 ventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and schol4 ars; 

5 (6) Native Americans should be recognized for 

6 their contributions to the United States as local and 

7 national leaders, artists, athletes, and scholars; 

8 (7) nationwide recognition of the contributions 

9 that Native Americans have made to the fabric of 

10 American society will afford an opportunity for all 

11 Americans to demonstrate their respect and admira12 tion of Native Americans for their important con13 tributions to the political, cultural, and economic life 

14 of the United States; 

15 (8) nationwide recognition of the contributions 

16 that Native Americans have made to the Nation will 

17 encourage self-esteem, pride, and self-awareness in 

18 Native Americans of all ages; 

19 (9) designation of the Friday following Thanks20 giving of each year as Native American Heritage 

21 Day will underscore the government-to-government 

22 relationship between the United States and Native 

23 American governments; and 

24 (10) designation of Native American Heritage 

25 Day will encourage public elementary and secondary 


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1 schools in the United States to enhance under2 standing of Native Americans by providing curricula 

3 and classroom instruction focusing on the achieve4 ments and contributions of Native Americans to the 

5 Nation. 

6 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE 

7 DAY. 

8 The Friday immediately succeeding Thanksgiving 

9 Day of each year shall be known as Native American Her10 itage Day. 

11 SEC. 4. CELEBRATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE 

12 DAY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress encourages the people of 

14 the United States, as well as Federal, State, and local gov15 ernments and interested groups and organizations to ob16 serve Native American Heritage Day with appropriate 

17 programs, ceremonies, and activities, including activities 

18 related to— 

19 (1) the historical and constitutional status of 

20 Native American tribal governments as well as the 

21 present day status of Native Americans; 

22 (2) the cultures, traditions, and languages of 

23 Native Americans; and 

24 (3) the rich Native American cultural legacy 

25 that all Americans enjoy today. 


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1 (b) NATIVE AMERICAN.—For purposes of this Act, 

2 the term ‘‘Native American’’ has the meaning given such 

3 term by section 16(10) of the National Museum of the 

4 American Indian Act (20 U.S.C. 80q–14(10)). 

Æ 


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