November Is Native American Heritage Month by MRFF Board Member, John Compere

Native American Heritage Month is celebrated every November. Its purpose is to honor Native Americans by recognizing the histories, cultures and continuing contributions of Native peoples. A joint resolution of Congress was signed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 approving the national proclamation of Native American Heritage Month.

The 2026 theme is “Honoring Our Roots, Renewing Our Future ” to recognize the strength of ancestors, the resilience of communities and the responsibility shared in supporting future generations. It is intended to recognize the original people of this land, respect tribal sovereignty and acknowledge the histories, traditions, languages and knowledge systems that continue to shape Native American communities today.

The ancestors of Native Americans came from Beringia in Russia’s eastern Siberia, traveling across a prehistoric land bridge on the Bering Straight into Alaska, migrating south and inhabiting the American continent as its indigenous people at least 20,000 years before the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Native Americans have served honorably in the US Armed Forces for over 200 years from the Revolutionary War to current conflicts in the Middle East. For example, the Navajo Code Talkers developed an unbreakable code that helped the Allied Forces win World War II. Native Americans have the highest percentage of military service than any other ethnic population. 27 Native Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor.

Over 575 Tribal Nations are federally recognized and continue to uphold their sovereignty and traditions while encouraging the next generation to continue the teaching of their ancestors. According to the US Census Bureau, there are currently 9.7 million Native Americans in the United States.

Unfortunately, we have often misnamed our Native people “Indians” in the past disregarding, disdaining and disrespecting their ancestry as well as their historical, geographical and cultural origin. Columbus was the culprit. He was searching for a western trade route by sea to the Orient for the Spanish Crown and believed by sailing west he would reach India or China. After landing in the Caribbean Islands of the Americas, Columbus mistakenly believed it was the Indies in the Indian Ocean off India and misidentified the natives he observed as “Los Indios ” (The Indians). It was not the Indies and the natives were not Indians. Columbus continued to erroneously believe he landed in eastern Asia until his death in 1506. Our original or indigenous people are Native Americans and not “Indians”. They are from ancient Siberia and not India nor its Indies. “Indians” are from India. Chief Joseph, Native American leader and spokesman of the Nez Perez, addressed it appropriately “It does not take many words to speak the truth”.

Each November, we recognize and honor the histories, cultures and continuing contributions of our Native people with Native American Heritage Month. We also recognize our Native people with Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October along with Columbus Day.

John Compere

4th generation West Texan

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