National American Indian Heritage Month, 1994

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Proclamation 6756 of November 5, 1994

National American Indian Heritage Month, 1994

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

There is a yearning among American people for a sense
of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of shared
beliefs and common goals. Today, across the country, we
are searching for ways to come together in friendship
and mutual respect. As we look toward the promise of
the 21st century, it is important that we reflect on
our shared heritage and on the valuable lessons history
teaches.

At this momentous time, we pay tribute to this
country's first peoples--the American Indians. We
celebrate the innumerable contributions that
generations of American Indians and Alaska Natives have
made to our country and to our world. Before there were
colonists on these shores, long before our Nation's
founders drafted the U.S. Constitution, American
Indians had established powerful civilizations and rich
and thriving cultures. Government, art, music,
spirituality, and a deep and abiding respect for the
natural environment--all of these are enduring
traditions of the American Indians.

Native peoples were the first environmentalists,
understanding that air, water, plants, and animals must
be treated with respect if they are to remain available
for generations to come. American Indians taught the
first European settlers how to survive in new
surroundings and helped them to explore uncharted
wilderness. Native peoples have represented this
country in every war, from the American Revolution to
the Persian Gulf, and are proud members of every branch
of the U.S. Armed Forces. Artists such as R. C. Gorman
and Fritz Scholder and writers such as Louise Erdrich
and N. Scott Momaday have made remarkable contributions
to art and literature.

The relationship between the U.S. Government and the
American Indians has not been without controversy. As
we look back on our history, we must acknowledge often
profound mistakes. But we also must look to and plan
for a future of cooperation and respect. With the
recent passage of the Indian self-governance and self-
determination amendments of 1994, we celebrate the
government-to-government relationship that exists
between the Indian tribes and the United States. This
legislation reaffirms and strengthens the political
ties between all of the nations of this land.

To acknowledge the varied and inestimable contributions
of the native peoples and to celebrate this proud
legacy, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 271,
has designated November 1994 as ``National American
Indian Heritage Month'' and has authorized and
requested the President to issue a proclamation in
observance of this month.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim November
1994 as National American Indian Heritage Month. I urge
all Americans, as well as their elected representatives
at the Federal, State, and local levels, to observe
this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and
nineteenth.

(Presidential Sig.)>