Native American Comedy Slam (standup)

Native American Comedy Slam | The original full show

(laugh out loud flix) Premiered Nov. 15, 2025: The Original Native American Comedy Slam was created in the bold spirit of The Kings of Comedy—a no-reservations-needed, “Goin’ Native” stand-up event that celebrates Indigenous humor at its finest.

Hosted by the legendary Charlie Hill, the special features powerhouse performances from

• Larry Omaha,
• Howie Miller,
• Marc Yaffee,
• Jim Ruel,
• Vaughn Eagle Bear, and
• JR Redwater.

Filmed during the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Festival in Los Angeles, this groundbreaking event made history as the first-ever filmed showcase to feature seven of the nation’s top Native American comedians together on one stage. It remains a landmark moment in Indigenous representation and comedy culture. Discover more from each of these incredible artists—explore their work and follow their journeys:

1. Charlie Hill - RIP Tribute to Charlie:    • Charlie Hill • Remembering a Native Americ... Charlie Hill (More about Charlie) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie...

2. Larry Omaha: https://www.larryomaha.net/ Larry Omaha Instagram: larryomaha Larry Omaha Facebook: larryomaha

3. Howie Miller: https://www.howiemiller.com/ Howie Miller on Facebook: howiemillercomedy

4. Vaughn Eaglebear, who also spells his last name Eagle Bear Vaughn Eagle Bear on Facebook: vaughn.eaglebear. Vaughn Eagle Bear's music: https://vaughneaglebear.hearnow.com/b... Vaughn Eagle Bear on YouTube: @veaglebear

5. Marc Yaffee: https://laughwithmarc.com/ Marc Yaffee Facebook: laughwithmarcyaffee Marc Yaffee Instagram: marcyaffee Marc Yaffee YouTube: marcyaffee

6. Jim Ruel Facebook: jimruelcomedy Jim Ruel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimruel2/?h...

7. JR Redwater Facebook: jrredwatercomedy JR Redwater Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrredwaterc...

The Original Native American Comedy Slam was Directed and Produced by: Scott Montoya • imdb.to/2LVcn0y

For anyone who thinks Charlie Hill’s opening comments about the Iroquois Confederacy helping shape American democracy are inaccurate, here are a few reputable historical sources that explain the real connections between the "Haudenosaunee system" and early American political thought and is spelled out in the new documentary series by Ken Burn "American Revolution.”

• The First 10 Minutes of "The American Revo... Go to 1 minute into the first ten minutes of this new series on PBS from Ken Burns "American Revolution.” here is a link:    • The First 10 Minutes of "The American Revo...

The Native American Government That Helped Inspire the US Constitution: https://www.history.com/articles/iroq... US Democracy and the Iroquois Confederacy https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/09/the... Follow lolflix at: Instagram: lolflix / lolflix / lolflix.com Twitter: lolflix   or @lolflix More Comedy: http://lolflix.com/ lolflix cool stuff to merch: https://teespring.com/stores/lolflix © lolflix, Inc. All Right Reserved • No portion of this video may be copied and reposted without express written permission of lolflix, Inc. and LOL Comedy Inc. ® lolflix “Laugh Out Loud Flix” is a federally registered Trademark.

29 products laugh out loud flix tagged products below. Learn more Native American T-shirt,7 Colors! Portion Donated, MMIW,Native Hope, Pow Wow, Native Pride, Lakota, Sioux, Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tee $21.25 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/1739914076/native-american-t-shirt7-colors-portion?gpla=1&gao=1 Native American clothing - Indigenous Owned Stores - I am my Ancestors wilds dream - Indigenous clothes - Native shirts - Indigenous AF $28.00 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/922501578/native-american-clothing-indigenous?gpla=1&gao=1 Womens Oglala Lakota People Cotton Shirt - Honoring First Nations, Inuit, Native American Indigenous Cultures $21.86 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/1455679758/womens-oglala-lakota-people-cotton-shirt?gpla=1&gao=1 Indigenous shirt - Native tshirt - Native tee - Native American shirts - Indigenous apparel - Funny Native shirts - First Nation fashion $28.00 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/866625250/indigenous-shirt-native-tshirt-native?gpla=1&gao=1 Native American Shirt, Four Direction Color Shirt, Native, Indigenous, Native Blanket, Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tee $21.25 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/1652731418/native-american-shirt-four-direction?gpla=1&gao=1 Native American Shirt, American Tribe Shirt, Indigenous Shirt, Indigenous Peoples Day Shirt, Gifts For Native Americans $24.99 Earns commission etsy.com/listing/1278655098/native-american-shirt-american-tribe?gpla=1&gao=1

• Indigenous Firsts: A History of Native American Achievements and Events (by Yvonne Wakim Dennis, Arlene Hirschfelder, Paulette F. Molin, 2022)
• Indigenous Firsts: A History of Native American Achievements and Events
• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (ReVisioning History Book 3) by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Native American Heritage Month: November

Timeline - World History Documentaries, 9/20/22; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Native American/Indians in the Americas go back at least 10,000 years, like Aztec dancers.

.

The Buried Secrets of the Native American Civilizations | 1491: America Wars

This series spins [an implicitly biased] tale about Indigenous peoples of the Americas before the Spanish explorer Cristobal Columbus arrived in the Carribean and went no further, never reaching or perhaps even noticing the mainland.

Each episode uses re-enactments to show a particular subject. Viewers learn about the art, architecture, archeology, science and technology of the [estimated 100 million Native people living here when this land was "discovered" and the program of rape and extermination, ethnic cleansing and slow genocide began].

📺 It's like Netflix for history...Sign up to History Hit, the world's best history documentary service and get 50% off using the code 'TIMELINE' bit.ly/3a7ambu. Find more from on: facebook.com/timelineWH, tiktok.com/@timelineworld..., instagram.com/timelineWH. This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries, please contact owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com.

Native American Heritage Month

The slow genocide of the original inhabitants of this land affects everyone here to this day.

.

(Wiki) November is "National American Indian Heritage Month," commonly referred to as Native American Heritage Month. The bill read in part that "Federal, state, and local governments, groups and organizations and the people of the United States to observe such month with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities."

• 

  MAFIA: Make America Free of Indians Again

  RACIST CONTROVERSY: On Halloween 2019, Pres. Don John Trump proclaimed November 2019 as National American History and Founders Month [14] to celebrate the first European founders and colonizers of America. On October 13th of the same year, he issued a proclamation recognizing Columbus Day and not Indigenous Peoples' Day [15]. Some journalists have suggested that "National American History and Founders Month" is nothing but a racist attempt to subvert attention from National Native American Heritage Month [16] and stifle Indigenous voices [17] by announcing a celebration that can be viewed as opposing and contradictory to what National Native American Heritage Month is supposed to highlight and honor [18, 19].

At least Marlon Brando tried to right the wrongs

This landmark bill honoring America's tribal people represented a major step in the establishment of this celebration. It began in 1976 when a Cherokee/Osage Indian named Jerry C. Elliott-High Eagle authored Native American Awareness Week legislation the first historical week of recognition in the nation for native peoples.

This led to 1986 with then Pres. Reagan proclaiming Nov. 23–30, 1986, as "American Indian Week."

This commemorative month aims to provide a platform for Native people in the United States of America to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, ways, and concepts of life. This gives Native people the opportunity to express to their community, both city, county and state officials their concerns and solutions for building bridges of understanding and friendship in their local area.

Federal Agencies are encouraged to provide educational programs for their employees regarding Native American history, rights, culture and contemporary issues, to better assist them in their jobs and for overall awareness.

• November is Native American Indian Heritage Month

It's Native American Heritage Month

Native Americans dancing used to be so beautiful in full regalia. Now we party nearly naked:

.

White Indigenous tribes of Scandinavia (Sami)

Tell us more about Native American Heritage Month. National Native American Heritage Month celebrates the culture, contributions, and heritage of Indigenous populations called Native Americans or American-Indians.

In 1990 Pres. George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.”

Decolonize Your Diet (vegan recipes)

Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”) have been issued each year since 1994.

This month is a time to educate the public about Native American tribes, raise a general awareness about the unique challenges the Indigenous (First Nations) have faced, and to illuminate the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.

• Native American Heritage Month – LA County Library

Native American Food Sovereignty

Progressive plant based Native eating

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, join the Los Angeles County Public Library in highlighting how Native communities are taking control over their food sources and production by revitalizing traditional, healthy [predominantly vegan], and localized food sources.

In this hands-on workshop, learn how to start a Salvia columbariae plant and explore its cultural uses among various Native groups. This event has multiple dates and locations throughout November. View events list below to find the program at the nearest location.

• Native American Food Sovereignty (LACL)

The Americas are home to many tribes

Tongva (Kizh) Cultural Classes

Main Altadena Library, burn scar, Los Angeles County

Altadena Library District

On Nov. 1st, 2025, we learned to make Cloth Medicine Bags with Councilwoman Neminski and Councilwoman Murillo of the Gabrielino/Tongva (Kizh) Nation, who taught the workshop for ages 10 and up.

Beaded Wire Wrap Bracelets Workshop

Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:00-4:00 pm: Councilwomen of the Gabrielino/Tongva (Kizh) Nation teach class for ages 8 and up.

Pine Needle Basket Medallion

Saturday, Nov. 12, 2:00-4:00 pm: Councilwomen teach class for ages 8 and up.

• Native American History Month Discussion, Thursday, November 20, 2025, 1:30 - 2:30pm - Programs — Altadena Library District

Native American flute music (video)

Ray Carlos Nakai; Roses of Time; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ray Carlos Nakai: Earth Spirit

Roses of Time

Earth Spirit is a collection of solo flute pieces from Navajo-Ute musician Ray Carlos Nakai is an evocative delight.

The album consists of mostly original material, from the composition "Canyon Reverie" to the improvisational "In Media Res" to "Athabascan Song," a new arrangement of a traditional song. The latter in particular stands out, with a faster rhythm and more lilting melody than most of the other pieces.

There's also "Ancient Dreams" performed on a bone whistle. This instrument almost exceeds the upper range of human hearing, and Nakai occasionally sounds like he's imitating birdcalls.

A classically trained musician, Nakai blends musical traditions to create a whole that reminds one, on occasion, of Japanese shakuhachi music.

This album best captures the timeless serenity of the solo Native American flute. Nakai's music speaks to the spirit with a simplicity that transcends place and time. It includes original compositions and traditional Athabascan and Omaha melodies.

1. Shaman's Call
2. Canyon Reverie
3. In Media Res
4. Gateway
5. Athabascan Song
6. Coyote Animus
7. Song Of The Evening Star
8. Ancient Dreams
9. Catfish Muse
10. Star Chant
11. Aura Aurealis
12. Crystal Canyon
13. Omaha Song
14. Nemi
15. Earth Spirit

Ray Carlos Nakai was born in Flagstaff, Arizona on April 16, 1946 and now resides in Tucson, Arizona. He is a Native American of Navajo-Ute heritage who began his musical career as a freshman at Northern Arizona University (NAU) studying brass instruments and playing in the NAU marching band. In his sophomore year he enlisted in the US Navy with the hope of eventually playing in the Armed Forces Band. He passed the highly competitive auditions for the Armed Forces School of Music and was 28th on the waiting list for admission. Playing with the Armed Forces Band became impossible, however, because an auto accident damaged his mouth making it impossible to produce the correct embouchure to continue playing brass instruments. Shortly after this accident, he was presented with a gift of a traditional Native American cedar flute and challenged to master it.

Nakai says that most of his inspiration comes from the expressions of native communities and his desire to preserve his own Native American heritage. In addition, he likes to blend his native music with that of other cultures thereby helping to preserve their heritage as well. To that end, he has collaborated with a Japanese folk ensemble, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David, and many others. He has worked with American composer Philip Glass Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog and flutist Paul Horn. A 2005 collaboration with slack key guitar master Keola Beamer fused two very different indigenous American cultural forms and resulted in the album "our Beloved Land." He has expressed his philosophy and views of Native American culture in the modern world in an interview with Native Digest.

The Library of Congress has more than 30 of his recordings preserved in the American Folklife Center. His "Earth Spirit" and "Canyon Trilogy" albums are the only Native American albums to be certified Gold by the RIAA.

Nakai developed a system of tablature notation ( commonly known as Nakai Tablature ) that could be used across a wide variety of flute keys and tunings. He published this in The Art of the Native American Flute (1996) with James Demars, Ken Light and David P. McAllester. This provided resources and support for other musicians playing the Native American flute.

In 2005 he was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Arizona Governor's Arts Award in 1992. He received an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994 and the NAUAA Dwight Patterson (1934) Alumnus of the Year Award in 2001. Nakai earned a Master's Degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona.

Native American News on NPR.org

National Public Radio (npr.org); Xochitl, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(The Two-Way) Dennis Banks, Native American activist and Wounded Knee occupier, dies at 80

Camila Domonoske, Oct. 30, 2017 • Banks was a founding member of the American Indian Movement and a leader of the armed occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973.

(Performing Arts) Film Te Ata tells real life story of prolific Native American performer Oct. 21, 2017 • Te Ata is about the true story of Mary Thompson Fisher, a Chickasaw storyteller who was born and raised in the Chickasaw Nation. She became one of the greatest Native American performers ever.

Goodbye, for now, to a vital source of news (NPR, Sept. 24, 2017) Indian Country Today Media Network announced it would "cease active operations..." That leaves a big hole in news coverage by and about Native Americans..., those stories too often go untold -- or get distorted.

• Indian Country Today Media Network to cease...
  Editor's Note: As of Sept. 4, 2017, Indian Country Today Media Network...Without fairly paid good reporters were all much worse off...

Courtesy of the Oneida Indian Nation

(Code Switch) Goodbye, for now, to a vital source for Native American news

Leah Donnella, Sept. 24, 2017 • Indian Country Today Media Network announced it would "cease active operations." That leaves a big hole in news coverage by, and about, Native Americans.

(Law)Partnership between drug giant and Native American tribe may affect patent challenges

David Sommerstein, Sept. 19, 2017 • NCPRA drug company and a native tribe in upstate New York have struck a deal to use the tribe's sovereign status to enhance the patent protection for the drug company's products. 

(Movie Reviews) A killing on a Native American reservation propels the mystery-thriller Wind River

David Edelstein, Aug. 3, 2017 • FALaw enforcement agents confront a grim scene on the frozen Wyoming landscape in Taylor Sheridan's new film. Critic David Edelstein says that despite some clumsy plotting, Wind River hits home.

Alyson Hurt/NPR

Code Switch

Poll: 6 in 10 black Americans say police unfairly stopped them or a relative

Joe Neel, Oct. 30, 2017 • A third of black Americans say they avoid calling the police when in need because of fear of discrimination. And nearly half say they or a family member have been treated unfairly by the courts.

Alyson Hurt/NPR

The Two-Way

Poll: 1 in 3 Latinos report discrimination based on ethnicity

Joe Neel, Nov. 1, 2017 • Latinos reported substantial discrimination across their lives, including interactions with the police, being slurred because of their race or ethnicity and in health care settings. 

Animals

Native Americans sue after US government says grizzly bears no longer rndangered July 16, 2017 • NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Ben Nuvamsa of the Hopi Tribe about a lawsuit by Native Americans challenging the federal government's de-listing of the grizzly bear as an endangered species. 

U.S.

Artist Louie Gong brings authentic Native American art to mainstream business

Marcie Sillman, July 16, 2017 • KUOW, Louie Gong is a Native American visual artist and designer who got his start decorating Vans sneakers. Today he's one of the most successful Native entrepreneurs in the country.

A Tongva Native American Garden (and Tibet)

Xochitl, Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Pitzer Arboretum; Hendon Harris

When the world was a garden: Los Angeles' original inhabitants the Tongva tribe

Pitzer College has a hidden treasure: a Native Tongva Garden (pitzer.edu)

 

Native American Tongva, Chumash, Anasazi (Hopi, Puebloan peoples), and in fact all indigenous people made use of all of the plants at hand.

Berries were abundant, particularly a local favorite [alongside elderberry], the manzanita (Spanish "little apple") a.k.a. madrone. Sobochesh, as it was known to the Tongva, was useful to eat, drink, and use as natural medicine.
 

A lotion made of leaves is an excellent treatment for treating exposure to poison oak, or they can be simmered into a tea to cure diarrhea, urinary infections, and headaches, a poultice for skin sores... The blossoms are also useful.

Arroyo Seco Foundation (facebook), March 22

While berries are wonderful, every plant is useful, from yucca to sagebrush to wild buckwheat to black sage and, of course, sacred white sage... Pitzer College, at the eastern extreme of modern Los Angeles County, at the base of massive Mount Baldy, has prepared a hidden treasury of plant uses and folk cures.

Other Tongva Indians will be on hand along with Wisdom Quarterly this Saturday for the Fourth Annual Hahamongna Walkabout in JPL's front yard in Pasadena.

Native American (Tibetan) Buddhism

Native Wm Leclair with Buddhist brothers (BP)

What is the Buddhist connection? Not only are the similarities between the "Indians" of India, Ladakh, Tibet, and the mountainous parts of Asia -- the Karen, for example, and other tribes in Burma, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal -- and the "Indians" of America patently obvious to anyone who looks, there is a historical reason for it.

Gomari, Tibet/China (Rietje)

Hendon Harris (Chinese Discover America) helps us understand, and Rick Fields laid it out in How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in [Ancient] America. But as early as 1885, American historian Edward P. Vining knew that a group of Buddhist monks from Afghanistan had come to the New World, that is, long before Columbus, they "discovered" America and brought the Dharma to the Native Americans. See An Inglorious Columbus about the Buddhist discovery of America.

QUESTION

Native dance, Hemis Gompa (Stella Peters)

Harris, responding to Native American Buddhism and Tibet, writes in to ask: In Wisdom Quarterly's opinion is the Native American "Ghost Dance" revival movement, which started in approximately 1880 and ended violently at Wounded Knee in South Dakota in December 1890, directly related or religiously or culturally linked to the Tibetan "Ghost Dance" tradition celebrated to this very day? Please explain the reasons for your opinion.

ANSWER: Hendon, we only know it's possible, and we wouldn't be the first to notice. We will have to consult with our non-resident expert, H.M. Harris, to see if it is probable. (We hope he reads this and sends us the answer soon).

• Native American Walkabout 2014 (March 22)
• Early Chumash and Tongva cultures (PDF)
• Native American Buddhism and Tibet
• The Tibet-Pueblo [American Indian] Connection
• Buddhism among the Pueblo Indians, USA
• Native American Ethnographic Study: Ventura
• A Sneak Peek into Santa Monica's "Tongva Park"
• Pitzer College (Claremont) John R. Rodman Arboretum

Native American COMEDY, indigenous comics

Xochitl, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; FNX.org/comedy; NPR; Indigenouscomiccon.com

FNX presents: Custer's Last Standup

Why nobody-can-depict-me rules?

FNX will be filming a new television series featuring Native American and World Indigenous comedians as well as some of the biggest names in stand-up comedy. The community is invited because what's a comedy show without an audience? See you there! More + VIDEO

• Custer's Last Standup (Dec. 17th, Jan. 14th, 21st)
• San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) Auditorium 
• 701 South Mt.Vernon Ave., San Bernardino, CA 92410

Easy to get to from Los Angeles and Orange County by going east on the I-10 Freeway.

How we gonna keep them upstart Injuns in their place at work? More jobs.

.

"Indigenous COMIC CON," New Mexico

Native Americans tell their own SUPERHERO stories at Indigenous Comic Con

(Nov. 26, 2017) • The second annual Indigenous Comic Con was held in Albuquerque, N.M., in November. It brought together indigenous comic book creators, game designers, actors; and even an astronaut.

• COMEDY: indigenous comic con . com

An American Secret: The Untold Story of Native American Enslavement

Rhaina Cohen, Maggie Penman, Tara Boyle, and Shankar Vedantam (Nov. 20, 2017) • From the time of Columbus until the 1900s, as many as five million Native Americans were enslaved. This week, we explore that history, and the psychological reasons it stayed hidden in plain sight.

Native Americans react to cuts to Bears Ears National Monument

(Dec. 4, 2017) • The Trump administration has decided to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Shaun Chapoose, one of the Native American tribal leaders who fought for the monument's protections in the first place.

National Congress of American Indians reacts to Trump's "Pocahontas" comment

(Nov. 28, 2017) • At an event on Monday honoring Native American veterans, President Trump mocked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, saying "They call her Pocahontas." NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Jacqueline Pata of the National Congress of American Indians about the reaction in the room.

 

Native Americans feel invisible in U.S. health care system

Eric Whitney (Dec. 12, 2017) • About a quarter of Native Americans report experiencing discrimination in health care, according to a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
 

(iStockphoto.com/GracedByTheLight)

.

Forum: Examining discrimination against Native Americans

Joe Neel (Dec. 12, 2017) • How do Native Americans experience discrimination in daily life? Experts in Native American issues discuss the results of an NPR poll showing widespread discrimination across the nation.
 

Top Stories: Alabama Senate election; Native Americans' views on health care

Korva Coleman (Dec. 12, 2017) • Also: The latest on southern California wildfires; France hosts a world climate summit and President Trump isn't invited; and "The Endless Summer" surf film Director Bruce Brown dies at 80.

 

Fall leaf (Frank Rumpenhorst/Getty Images)

 

For many Native Americans, fall is least wonderful time of year 

Savannah Maher (Nov. 23, 2017) • "Fall is the annual middle finger this country gives Native Americans," says one member of the Oglala Lakota Nation.

 

Job corps Public Law 477 (Dylan Johnson/NPR)

You, Me, and Them: Experiencing discrimination in America

As Native Americans face job discrimination, a tribe works to employ its own

Graham Lee Brewer (Nov. 18, 2017) • About a third of Native Americans say they have experienced discrimination in the workplace when seeking jobs, or when getting promotions or earning equal pay, according to a new poll by NPR.

 

Welcome! Blue Gap/Tachee Chapter (Laurel Morales/KJZZ)

For some Native Americans, uranium contamination feels like discrimination

Laurel Morales (Nov. 14, 2017) • KJZZ-FMIn the Navajo Nation, waste from old uranium mines has proved to be an insidious health hazard. Even spring water has become radioactive. More from NPR

Happy Nat'l American Indian Day (9/27)

American Indian Day is observed on the fourth Friday of September every year. This year, it is celebrated today, Friday, Sept. 27th.

Although this is one of the most important days in the U.S., Native American Day is a public holiday or official state observance only in some states.

However, it has been steadily growing in scope and popularity. Something important is that some states celebrate this day on the second Monday of October.

History of American Indian Day

The people were more colorful than the land, but we would never know that from old photos.

As the name implies, Indigenous or Native American Day is an opportunity to celebrate, learn, and share information about the traditions, culture, and background of Native Americans [as well as your own alleged Cherokee blood].

If one is wondering who "Native Americans" are [the best American writer on the subject is Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]. They are the descendants of the aboriginal, indigenous people who were the original First Nations inhabitants of what is now called the United States of America, which is a continent with many other countries.

• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's Indigenous Peoples History (Paul Peart-Smith)
• An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States
• Amazon.com: Asian American Histories of the United States
• ORIGINAL: An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

The term "Native Americans" encompass hundreds of different tribes, from the Inuit (Eskimos) of Alaska to the Cherokees of the southeastern woodlands to the Dine (Navajos) of the Southwest, all the way up to the Kizh (Tongva) of Los Angeles and their neighbors the "Beautiful People" (Chumash) of Malibu, LA islands, and Ventura.

Each of these tribes has its own unique culture and language [on the west many related to the Ute Aztecan and on the east many related to Algonquin].

Native Americans have made distinct and significant contributions to the U.S.A. and the rest of the world in many fields, such as medicine, agriculture, music, language, and art.

Throughout history, they have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders [shamans and medicine women], and scholars.

In 1998, Native American Day was officially declared a state holiday. In 1990, South Dakota proclaimed this day a year of reconciliation between Native Americans and Caucasian [settler colonial] populations.

South Dakota did this by changing ignominious "Columbus Day" to Indigenous Peoples' Day or "Native American Day."

This day aims at celebrating the irreplaceable heritage, contributions, and knowledge of the massive Native American population.

What about the pre-Indians buried here?

It is also a day to commemorate the enduring legacy of their fortitude, energy, and strength [in the face of repeated humiliations, treaty betrayals, and an ongoing slow genocide conducted by the government with collusion by the larger population].

Native American Day is also about appreciating the long history of culture and traditions that Native Americans have preserved through the centuries. More

• NtionalToday.com, 9/27/24; Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly