Governor Newsom proclaims Native American Heritage Month
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring November 2024, as Native American Heritage Month.
The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:
PROCLAMATION
Home to the largest population of Native Americans in the United States, California has long been a land of opportunity for Native Americans from across the nation and continues to be a beacon of hope for those seeking both community and a voice on a national stage.
This Native American Heritage Month, we grapple with the duality of a history of violence and oppression while Native people, despite all odds, continue to persist as shining examples of exceptionalism. In this spirit, we look back to celebrate the forebears of this place and embrace them as their full selves—successful, talented Native luminaries—in ways they may not have been at the time. We also venerate those who are blazing trails and lighting others’ torches throughout American society today.
This year, the nation learned more about the devastating legacy of federal Indian boarding schools—with twelve sited in California alone—including how many students were lost, the inhumane treatment of children, and the practice of funding those schools with the sale of tribal lands. Last month, we witnessed—for the first time in history—a United States President issue a formal apology for the atrocities committed at federal Indian boarding schools across the nation. We hope that this important acknowledgment of pain, of lost years, and of intergenerational trauma will help Native communities in processing a national campaign designed to destroy cultures, community and identity—one we know was ultimately unsuccessful.
A testament to the enduring resilience of Native people, this year we witnessed several beautiful celebrations of the truth-telling, heart-wrenching stories of the loss and dispossession of generations of Native communities. The Reservation Dogs—who finally did make it to the stunning shores of California—were nominated and awarded several times over for their unflinching depiction of the continuum all Native people walk in, honoring and embodying the ancestors while grappling with the harsh realities of our time. The Oscars—for the first time—featured Osage singers performing the award-nominated “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” in Osage language, and Piegan Blackfeet and Nez Perce actor Lily Gladstone went home with a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” All of this took place within miles of where two young Osage sisters, Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, once trained to become the world’s premier ballerinas.
This fall, Native fashion designers like Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock artist Jamie Okuma and Diné designer Orlando Dugi showcased the arts of their ancestors in new, unexpected ways at a groundbreaking Indigenous futurism fashion show at the Getty. And we’ve seen these designs make their way onto the national stage, beautifully worn by the likes of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan.
Today, as we reflect on the tenacity of Native people in the face of practices aimed at their destruction and bent on making them small and unseen, I call on all Californians to find meaningful opportunities to uplift, validate and engage with Native trailblazers—past and present—across the nation.
NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim November 2024, as “Native American Heritage Month.”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 1st day of November 2024.
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California
ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State