An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know United States Drug Enforcement Administration SEARCH FULL MENU Main Menu National Native American Heritage Month What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S., has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens. The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed. The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919. Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day we observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday. In 1990 President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994. National Native American Heritage Month A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2021 | The White House SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator Who We Are About Domestic Divisions Foreign Offices Contact Us DEA Museum What We Do Drug Prevention Law Enforcement Diversion Control Division News Careers Overview Special Agent Diversion Investigator Forensic Sciences Intelligence Research Specialist Resources Drug Information Employee Assistance Program Equal Opportunity Employer FOIA Publications Media Galleries VWAP Doing Business with the DEA Overview Current Vendors Prospective Vendors Security Clauses Security Forms Small Business Program Policies Accessibility, Plug-ins & Policy Legal Policies & Disclaimers No FEAR Act Privacy Policy U.S. Department of Justice EEO Policy USA.gov Whistleblower Protection United States Drug Enforcement Administration DEA.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram DEA Contact Center (202) 307-1000 info@dea.gov Contact the Webmaster