Each year, during the month of November, the Copyright Alliance celebrates Native American Heritage Month (American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month). Declared in 1990, Native American Heritage Month honors and celebrates the diverse history, heritage, and culture of Indigenous peoples, while grieving the unjust history and policies that continue to affect Tribal Nations today. On this page, we have gathered educational and anti-racism resources to assist in working towards a more equitable and promising future. We continue to learn from a painful history that informs our present times, and we continue to advocate for the rights of indigenous creators and artists.
If you are an Indigenous creator who would like to be featured or partner with us in education and advocacy, please email us at info@copyrightalliance.org.
Blogs and Articles from 2022
- Protecting Indigenous Artists Against Infringement and Appropriation (Copyright Alliance)
- Member Spotlight: Herb Ascherman – Portraiture and the Three Affiliated Tribes Fort Berthold, North Dakota (ASMP)
- Celebrating the Firsts: First Painting by a Native American Artist Acquired by the National Gallery of Art (Library of Congress)
- Music & Native American Heritage Month (Library of Congress)
- Raven Stamp Celebrates Tlingit Culture (Graphic Artists Guild)
- Native American Heritage Month Pathway to Progress: Ojibwe Women Transform Working Life in Minneapolis (IATSE)
Indigenous Anti-Racism Resources
The Copyright Alliance has also assembled additional creative and educational resources in support of the BIPOC community on our main BIPOC page.
Books
- Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land by Toni Jensen
- Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism by Noenoe K.Silve
- The Winona LaDuke Chronicles: Stories from the Front Lines in the Battle for Environmental Justice by Winona LaDuke
- An indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Inside the Fight to Reclaim Native America’s Culture by Chip Colwell
- Native Southerners: Indigenous History from Origins to Removal by Gregory D. Smithers
- Ritual and Myth in Odawa Revitalization: Reclaiming a Sovereign Place by Melissa A. Pflug
- Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth by The Red Nation
Articles/Online Resources
- Native Land Digital
- Native America Calling
- Tribal Nations and the United Stated: An Introduction
- Whose Land is it Anyway? A Manual for Decolonization
- A Conversation with Native Americans on Race
- Educators and Native Leaders Recommend Bringing Anti-Racism to the Thanksgiving Table
- National Day of Mourning
- 100 Ways to Support Not Appropriate from Native People
- The “Long Awaiting”—Lifting Up Native Voices for Economic Justice
- Two Spirit Community
Podcasts
- Media Indigena
- All My Relations
- Native Voice One
- The Henceforward
- This Land
- The Red Nation Podcast
- Let’s Talk Native With John Kane
- Coffee With My Ma
Organizations
- American Indian Library Association
- Native American Journalists Association
- National Congress of American Indians
- Native Justice Coalition
- Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance
- Indigenous Values Initiative
- Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples
- Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Creators Highlighted during Native American Heritage Month 2022
Listed below are several Indigenous creators who have contributed across a variety of artistic mediums, each serving as significant contributors to Native American and American culture.
Lloyd Henri “Kiva” New– Cherokee fashion designer and former Director of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) famous for his innovative and culturally inspired designs.
Post-Commodity– An interdisciplinary art collective featuring Cristóbal Martínez (Mestizo), and Kade L. Twist (Cherokee) who provide an Indigenous lens to the 21st century.
Elizabeth Marie Tallchief– Considered America’s first prima ballerina and the first American and Native American to dance with the Paris Opera Ballet.
We’wha, a Lhamana (Zuni Two Spirit)– A spiritual leader, cultural ambassador, and pottery and textile artist identifying as Two Spirit.
Lily Hope– An artist, teacher, and community facilitator who led the #WHYAKMASKSUP campaign educating and promoting mask wearing while supporting Alaskan Native artists.
Joan Hill– A widely celebrated 20th-century Native American painter who produced work in over 36 countries and received over 250 awards.
Maria Martinez– A Native American artist internationally acclaimed for her black-on-black pottery.
Nicholas Galanin– A multi-media artist and advocate rooted in his experiences as an Indigenous man and engaging with the past, present, and future.
Geo Neptune– A master basketmaker, drag queen, activist, educator, and two-spirit artist who is a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Indian Township, ME.