November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The month celebrates rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and acknowledges the important contributions of Native people. It’s also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced historically and in the present, and how tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.
This annual period provides a platform for Native people to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways of life and opens the opportunity to express to their community, local and state officials concerns and solutions for building bridges of understanding and friendship in their local area.
America needs to remember Native peoples have participated in every major U.S. military encounter from the Revolutionary War to today’s conflicts in the Middle East, serving at a higher rate in proportion to their population than any other ethnic group.
At https://bookstore.gpo.gov is a fascinating fourteen volume collection from the Smithsonian Institution’s Handbook of North American Indians series, the ultimate resource for Native American history across various regions of North America. The set summarizes of what’s known about the prehistory, history, and cultures of the aboriginal peoples of North America north of the urban civilizations of central Mexico.
Some volumes feature specific tribes located in geographic areas across the U.S. including: the Plains, Great Basin, Arctic, Northwest Coast, Southwest, California, North and South East, etc.
Other handbooks describe Indians in Contemporary Society, Indian-white relations, languages, etc, all found under the following online source:
Handbook of North American Indians print series volumes: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/handbook-north-american-indians
The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications
HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?
Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.
- Click here to browse our Handbook of North American Indians collection
- Click here to browse our American Indians collection
Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office.
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Trudy Hawkins
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