Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month by being #NativeAware

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month


The characters of your life — your ancestors, your family, and your friends — add a voice to your story in ways that bring it color, laughter, and tears. The Native American story — their history — has been largely shaped and told by those who never really knew them. The real story must be told with their voice of tradition, culture, pride, and strength.

While we celebrate year-round at Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), Heritage Month is a time for you to celebrate culture and tradition and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people.

It also provides an opportunity for you to help educate others about tribes, general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced historically and today, as well as the ways in which PWNA helps tribal citizens work to conquer these challenges.

We need your help to make this Heritage Month successful! Join us!

We have so many great things to share and talk about this month — we’ll explore different Native languages, the real story of the first Thanksgiving, Native American recipes, and much more. We’re also hosting several giveawaysyou don’t want to miss these!



Click the "+" sign to learn more.

DOWNLOADS

Thanksgiving Lesson Plan

Children are the future. That's why it is so important that we all do our part to teach them the truth of how this Nation came to be, and the importance of the Native people who were here before us. Download this Thanksgiving lesson plan to help teach children the truth about Thanksgiving from a Native American perspective. Share it with a teacher, a school, or review the contents with your own children or grandchildren.
Download the Truth About Thanksgiving lesson plan today >>


Real Thanksgiving Story

Do you know what really happened during the first Thanksgiving? We think we know what happened — why it was held, how the Wampanoag were invited, and what the English ate. It is easier to believe this tale than to look at the facts. Download the real story of the first Thanksgiving, as shared by descendants of the Wampanoag Tribe and descendants of the English in Plymouth Colony — learn what really happened in 1621 and how those events have shaped the reality for Native American communities today.
Download the real story of the first Thanksgiving >>


Untold After Thanksgiving Story

How did that first harvest mark the beginning of the end of English reliance on their tribal neighbors and why did the relationship brutally change? In return for their charity and compassion, the Wampanoag and other tribes got genocide, loss of land and centuries of oppression. Download the Untold Story and reveal a past that history has chosen to ignore, and learn more about how you can help tribes now. You can’t change history—but knowing the rea history could change you.
Download the Untold Story After the First Thanksgiving >>


Download these traditional recipes

In our lives, food provides us with so much more than nourishment. It connects us to family and friends, to history and heritage, and to the earth and its bounty. This recipe book brings a special opportunity to connect directly to Native American heritage. By exploring these dishes, you'll learn about history, understand more about Native American culture and traditions, and expand your perspective on the world around us.
Download and try these traditional Native American recipes >>


Native Languages Download

Discover Native Languages! Did you know the biggest football game of the year was broadcast in the Navajo language in 1996? Or that the parent language of Potawatomi was listed in the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records as the most complex language in the world? Discover Native American Languages — download this eBook and learn 8 words in 5 Native languages!
Download the ebook >>


Boarding School Download

The 'Indian boarding school' in the USA is often an outlier of society that was largely used to follow General Pratt's theology of 'Kill the Indian, save the man' during the assimilation era of US policy. This is a very dark chapter in U.S. history, and not nearly enough attention has been given to the long-lasting impacts it has had on tribal communities. This is why we strongly believe that every youth counts. Every graduation matters. And the work we do is critically important. To learn more about the history of boarding schools and how you can be an advocate,
download the Indian Boarding School Fact Sheet.


Myth vs. Reality Quiz

How much do you know about Native Americans? Do Native Americans pay federal taxes? Is college free for Native Students? Test your knowledge —
take the quiz today!





Latest Impact Report

With your support, we've traveled more than 88,000 miles to deliver 1.3 million pounds of supplies to Native American communities on remote reservations this year. View your latest Impact Report to see the impact you've made in Native Communities and know that none of our services would be possible without the generosity and support of friends like you.
View the latest report >>


Five Funding Facts

Many people believe the U.S. government meets the needs of Native Americans under the treaties — including free housing, healthcare, education, and food; freedom from taxes; and receipt of government checks each month. The reality is that federal treaty obligations are underfunded and many Native families are struggling. Find out what really happens to all the federal funding and benefits for Indian tribes.
Download the “Top 5 Funding Facts” >>


Ways to Support

Just as we know each of the 500+ tribes in the U.S. are as unique as the next, we recognize that each of our supporters are also unique in their own way. Some may support Native communities by joining our Circle of Friends, while others choose to make an impact shopping on Amazon. No matter how you choose to support Native Americans today, know that your gift will have an impact on the lives of the people we serve for years to come. The most important thing we deliver to the reservation is hope.
Find YOUR Way to Support >>



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GIVEAWAYS

Win a hand-painted Navajo mini pottery vase

Congratulations to the winner, Makalah P. from Kentucky!

Do you know how to generally determine the authenticity of traditional Navajo pottery? Or what a fire cloud is?

Click here to learn more about Navajo pottery.




Congratulations to the winner!

Enter to win here!

Click here to learn more about traditional Native American foods and what modern Indigenous cuisine looks like today.





Win the Heritage Month Grand Prize!

Enter to win PWNA's 2023 Giveaway Grand Prize! The Grand Prize includes a Dreamcatcher, a Powwow Soap Bundle from Sequoia Soaps, a beaded ornament from 5 Sisters Beadwork, and a PWNA Native American Heritage Month t-shirt. Thank you so much for joining us and participating all year long in 2023!





SHOPPING

Heritage Month Merch

Order your Heritage Month merch! You can celebrate Native American Heritage for years to come with a limited-edition t-shirt, hoodie, or coffee mug with a one-of-a-kind, beading-inspired design on the back. Order one for yourself, or tackle your holiday shopping early and order one for a friend.
Order yours today >>



Buy Native

This holiday season and throughout the year, we encourage you to #BuyNative! Fashion, jewelry, beauty, high-end art — we're positive you'll find something to fall in love with!
Check out the many names on this list and support Native Artists today >>


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MAKE AN IMPACT

Give a Thanksgiving Meal

1 in 4 Native Americans face food insecurity — which means they do not have enough, or access to enough nutritional food for a healthy lifestyle. Inflation poses a threat to Thanksgiving on the reservation this year — it is expected to be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday. Many Native families may not be able to put a warm, nutritious meal on the table. You can help!
Donate now to help a Native Elder with a Thanksgiving meal >>



Create a Fundraiser

25% of Native Americans are affected by food insecurity. Start a fundraiser today to help provide Thanksgiving meals to an Elder and their family! You can easily create your fundraiser on Facebook or Just Giving and start raising money for Native Americans in need!


Download the Huterra app

Donate While You Grocery Shop: Download the free HuTerra App and raise funds for PWNA and it's programs when you purchase gift cards, shop at online brand name businesses, and upload receipts from local businesses.
Download the Huterra App >>



Consider a Legacy Gift

Did you know that it is possible for you to assist Native Americans without it costing you anything during your lifetime? By including PWNA in your estate plans, you make a profound and lasting impact on the future of those we serve. Visit our Planned Giving page or contact Joe Langenderfer at 214-217-2600 Ext. 111 to learn more.



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RESOURCES

PWNA Youtube

Check out our YouTube channel to watch videos about Food Insecurity, interviews with our AIEF Scholars, a reality series with Wes Studi and much more! Visit our Youtube channel to learn more >>


Stay up to date on Native News

We do our due diligence to provide an accurate and respectful look at the Native American people we work with and serve. A great resource for current Native news is ICT— previously known as Indian Country Today. Learn more and see latest headlines at indiancountrytoday.com


PresPicks

PWNA President & CEO Joshua Arce has curated a list of articles he believes is vital in showing what goes on across #IndianCountry. Be #NativeAware, check out more #prespicks at nativepartnership.org/prespicks


Noteworthy Natives

There have been many notable Native Americans down through the ages and although mainstream America has not included them in most of modern day history books, Native American lore has held them in high regard. We cannot erase the omissions of the past but we can draw attention to at least a small number of the many outstanding Native Americans. Check out our list of #NoteworthyNatives >>



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See The Official Giveaway Contest Rules and Prizes >>