November is Native American Heritage month. But if I didn’t have family of Indigenous descent, I wouldn’t have known this.
I’d say my school is usually pretty good about celebrating different cultures, despite the fact that it’s primarily white. But I don’t see anything about Native American Heritage Month at all.
It makes me feel like my Native heritage isn’t as important as other parts of me. I know it isn’t true, but so much erasure used to convince me it was as a young girl. American Indian and Alaska Native culture was mostly left out of school lessons. We only briefly touched upon Native history in kindergarten and 8th grade social studies.
We should strive to honor all cultures, especially Native Americans, who have been neglected time and time again throughout history. The best way everyone can do this is to simply give our community the recognition and respect they deserve during November and all year round. At school, we could display books written by Indigenous authors in the library or decorate bulletin boards honoring different Native American tribes. Really, it doesn’t take much to help us feel seen.
LaVie Saad (she/her), is a biracial high school student and aspiring writer from Los Angeles, California.
Edited by Amber Ly and shaylyn martos