National American Indian Heritage Month, 1998

Proclamation 7144 of October 29, 1998

National American Indian Heritage Month, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

American Indians and Alaska Natives--the first
Americans--have made enormous contributions to the life
of our country. When the first Europeans arrived on
this continent, they did not find an empty land; they
found instead a land of diverse peoples with a rich and
complex system of governments, languages, religions,
values, and traditions that have shaped and influenced
American history and heritage. Generations of American
Indians have served and sacrificed to defend our
freedom, and no segment of our population has sent a
larger percentage of its young men and women to serve
in our Armed Forces. But American Indians are not just
an important part of our country's past; they are also
a vital part of today's America and will play an even
more important role in America's future.

There are more than 2 million American Indians living
in our country today, from the hardwood forests of
Maine to the Florida Everglades, across the Great
Plains to the Pacific Coast, and throughout the State
of Alaska. Through a variety of innovative enterprises,
many tribes are sharing in the unprecedented prosperity
our country enjoys today, prosperity that is reflected
in the construction of community centers, schools,
museums, and other cultural centers. However, many
people who live in Indian Country are caught in a cycle
of poverty made worse by poor health care and a lack of
educational and employment opportunity. If we are to
honor the United States Government's long-standing
obligations to Indian tribes, we must do all in our
power to ensure that American Indians have access to
the tools and opportunities they need to make the most
of their lives.

As part of this endeavor, my Administration has
strengthened the special government-to-government
relationship between the Federal Government and the
sovereign nations of Indian Country, expanded the role
of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the
Administration, and sought to increase educational
opportunities and economic development throughout
Indian Country. Earlier this year, I signed an
Executive order directing the Federal Government to
work together with tribal and State governments to
improve Native American achievement in math and
reading, raise high school graduation rates, increase
the number of Native American youth attending college,
improve science education, and expand the use of
educational technology. We are also striving to boost
economic development in Indian Country by working with
tribal governments to meet their technology
infrastructure needs, to coordinate and strengthen
existing Native American economic development
initiatives, and to help Native Americans obtain loans
more easily for building homes and starting new
businesses.

Today's Native Americans are among the youngest
segments of our population--a new, large generation of
young people who, if empowered with the education,
skills, opportunity, and encouragement they need to
thrive, can lead Indian Country into a future as bright
and promising as its extraordinary past. As we observe
National American Indian Heritage Month, let us resolve
to work together to make that future a reality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim November 1998 as National
American Indian Heritage Month. I urge all Americans,
as well as their elected representatives at the
Federal, State, local, and tribal levels, to observe
this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-third.