ABA Wide 21-Day National Native American Heritage Equity Habit Building Challenge ©

"Every day is the right time to honor Native culture, strength and fortitude. Every day is an opportunity to tell the world: We are here. We are still here. And there is much cause for celebration."

- First Nations Development Institute

The ABA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council is proud to launch a 21-Day Native American Heritage Equity Habit Building Challenge syllabus in honor of National Native American Month. This Challenge is modeled after the “21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge©,” which was conceived several years ago by diversity expert Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. to advance deeper understandings of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy, and oppression. We are grateful to Dr. Moore for publicly sharing and encouraging others to use this 21-day framework as an educational tool, including to advance learning across myriad diverse communities.

We invite ABA members and non-members to participate in this Equity Habit-Building Challenge. This Challenge is the forth ABA Challenge following the syllabus created to commemorate Black History Month in February 2021, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2021, Pride Month in June 2021, and Hispanic Heritage Month in September/October 2021. That first ABA-wide Challenge followed the 21-Day Challenge syllabus launched by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law last year.

The Goal of the Challenge

The goal of the Challenge is to assist each of us to become more aware, compassionate, constructive, engaged people in the quest for equity, and specifically to learn more about the Native American communities. It transcends our roles as lawyers. Non-lawyers are also welcome to participate.

How it Works

It is, of course, completely voluntary to do, and participation in the Challenge shall not be construed as agreement with every word of every assignment nor a commitment by any person to a particular professional position or strategy. Further, participants are free to opt-out of participating along the way. There is no grade at the end of the Challenge. While it is not the intention of the Challenge to cause offense, some participants may be offended by some language or images used in the lessons.

The Challenge invites participants to complete a syllabus of 21 daily, short assignments (typically taking 15-30 minutes), over 21 consecutive days, that includes readings, videos, or podcasts. The assignments seek to expose participants to perspectives on elements of Native American histories, identities, and cultures. This Challenges cannot possibly highlight all of the diversity of experiences and opinions within the Native American community itself, much less substitute for learnings about any other community. This syllabus is but an introduction to what we hope will be a rewarding journey that extends far beyond the limits of this project.

Access the Syllabus

See a day-by-day breakdown of the Syllabus below, or you can access the full syllabus, including reflection/discussion questions, additional links from ABA entities, and ABA entity-recommended resources at this link.

21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge is the registered copyright of America & Moore, LLC. 2014.

Sign Up to Join the Challenge!

• If you would like to pledge to join the Challenge, click here. (ABA affiliation is not required to participate).

Come back regularly to check new discussion questions and Additional Resources!

USE NAVIGATION BAR TO GO DIRECTLY TO EACH CHALLENGE DAY. 

DAY 1 | What is Native American Heritage Month

• Happy National Native American Heritage Month!, U.S. Department of the Interior (November 11, 2021). [1:43 minute video]
• A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment, Native Governance Center (October 22, 2019). [4 minute read]
• Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land, Native Land is a resource to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life.
• America, I Sing Back by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke - Poems | poets.org , Poets.org (1958). [2 minute read]

DAY 2 | Who is Native American?

• U.S. Perceptions of Indigenous Peoples: The Epic Mistory | Jodi Gillette | TEDxBismarck, YouTube: TEDx Talks (September 13, 2016). [17:01 minute video]
• "What does it mean to be a Native American today?", YouTube: Native Opinion (May 1, 2018). [6:09 minute video]
• ‘Native American’ or ‘American Indian’? How to Talk About Indigenous People of America, Healthline.com (March 15, 2021). [8 minute read]
  
• Young, Black Native activists say it's time to appreciate Indigenous diversity, NPR ( October 11, 2021). [3 minute read]

DAY 3 | Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians

• Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) 1971 | Federal Indian Law for Alaska Tribes, University of Alaska Fairbanks [6 minute read]
• A Few Differences between Alaska Tribes and Lower 48, Tanana Chiefs Conference (November 2004). [8 minute read]
• Native Hawaiians Divided on Federal Recognition, Voice of America (February 07, 2019). [8 minute read]
• Native Hawaiians to Deb Haaland: 'We're not Native Americans' , Indian Country Today (April 12, 2021). [5 minute read]

DAY 4 | Where Native Americans Live

• American Experience | The Relocation of Native Americans | Season 21 | Episode 9, PBS (May 11, 2019). [1:51 minute video]
• Relocation - National Council of Urban Indian Health
• Most Native Americans live in cities, not reservations. Here are their stories, The Guardian (September 4, 2017). [16 minute read]

DAY 5 | Federal (and State) Recognition

• What makes someone Native American? One tribe’s long struggle for full recognition, The Washington Post (August 20, 2018). [25 minute read]
• 25 CFR § 83.11 - What are the criteria for acknowledgment as a federally recognized Indian tribe?, Legal Information Institute [8 minute read]

DAY 6 | Sovereignty

• Tribal identity: A question of sovereignty, YouTube: Brookings Creative Lab (April 8, 2019). [3:16 minute video]

• Doctrine of Discovery, YouTube: TreeTV/ N2k Need to Know (September 16, 2015). [5:59 minute video]
• A History of Government Policies, Expedition Magazine (2013). [3 minute read]
• BESE Explains: Tribal Sovereign, YouTube: BESE (January 2, 2019). [2:41 minute video]
• "Understanding Tribal Sovereignty: The Native American Rights Fund, Expedition Magazine (2013). [11 minute read]
• Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships, Whitehouse.gov (January 26, 2021). [4 minute read]

DAY 7 | Treaties

• The "Indian Problem", YouTube: SmithsonianNMAI (May 2, 2015). [12:31 minute video]
• Why Treaties Matter | NPR , YouTube: NPR (November 22, 2017). [5:20 minute video]
• American treaties: What it would mean if the US honored them, Vox.com (September 23, 2019). [11 minute read]

DAY 8 | Criminal Jurisdiction

• Supreme Court Rules Tribal Police Can Detain Non-Natives, But Problems Remain, NPR (June 9, 2021). [3 minute listen] [5 minute read]
• McGirt v. Oklahoma, Wikipedia.com [12 minute read]
• Q&A: What does McGirt ruling mean?, Indian Country Today (July 9, 2020 ) [4 minute read]
• Native Americans, State Leaders Grapple With Legal Uncertainty in Oklahoma, Voice of America (July 31, 2021). [5 minute read]

DAY 9 | Assimilation and Boarding Schools

• A century of trauma at US boarding schools for Native American children, National Geographic (July 9, 2021). [11 minute read]
• Native Boarding Schools: Behind The Fight To Repatriate Indigenous Remains : Code Switch, NPR (August 28, 2021). [4 minute listen] [6 minute read]
• Schools tried to forcibly assimilate Indigenous kids. Can the U.S. make amends?, YouTube: PBS NewsHour (June 23, 2021). [8:13 minute video]
• Secretary Haaland Announces Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, U.S. Department of the Interior (June 23,2021). [3 minute read]

DAY 10 | Violence Against Native Women

• Native American women face an epidemic of violence. A legal loophole prevents prosecutions, NBC News (June 30, 2021). [8 minute read]
• Ending Violence Against Native Women, Indian Law Resource Center [8 minute read]
• Tribal VAWA: Much Remains Undone, YouTube: National Congress of American Indians (June 10, 2015). [6:53 minute video]
• Gabrielle Petito Coverage Looks Like Racist Clickbait To Some Native Americans, NPR (September 21, 2021). [2 minute listen] [1 minute read]

DAY 11 | Child Welfare

• Indian Child Welfare Act - Educational Resource Video, YouTube: Native American Rights Fund (August 9, 2013). [19:07 minute video]
• SWhat we don’t know about child welfare, but should, Soundcloud. [13:37 minute listen]
• Understanding the battle over the Indian Child Welfare Act, PolitiFact (November 1, 2021). [7 minute read]

DAY 12 | Public Lands

• American Indians Were Pushed Off Their Land to Create National Parks | The Takeaway, WNYCS Studios (August 17, 2020). [11:53 minute listen] [8 minute read]
• “We want to tell our own stories”: Public Lands and Indigenous Histories • The National Wildlife Federation Blog, National Wildlife Federation's Blog (September 26, 2019). [6 minute read]
• How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature, YaleEnvironment360 (June 3, 2021). [13 minute read]

DAY 13 | Environmental Justice

• Environmental Justice and Indian Country, ABA (October 1, 2003). [5 minute read]
• The Standing Rock resistance and our fight for Indigenous rights, TedTalks (2017). [10:55 minute video]
• Forced relocation of Native Americans has made them more vulnerable to climate change, study finds, WBUR (November 11, 2021). [10:46 minute listen] [5 minute read]

DAY 14 | Food Sovereignty

• Native American food traditions: A renewed drive to keep them alive, Christian Science Monitor (Febryary 22, 2021). [10 minute read]
• Winona LaDuke - Seeds of Our Ancestors, Seeds of Life, YouTube: TedxTC (March 4, 2012). [16:36 minute video]

DAY 15 | NAGPRA

• "Bones of Contention": Battling for Human Dignity at the Salina Indian Burial Pit, YouTube: SjoborHammer (October 21, 2009). [10:01 minute video]
• NAGPRA, YouTube: National NAGPRA Program (March 19, 2012). [20:20 minute video]

DAY 16 | Land

• Removing Native Americans from their Land , Library of Congress [2 minute read]
• Native Americans are buying back land that was stolen from them , YouTube: PBS NewHour (October 16, 2021). [7:57 minute video]
• American Lands | Ownership and Governance , U.S. Department of the Interior [8 minute read]
• Native Americans in the US and Property Rights: A Comparative Look at Canada's First Nations Property Ownership Act, The Atlantic (July 30, 2016). [12 minute read]

DAY 17 | Mascots, Identity and Stereotyping

• Unpacking The Mascot Debate Explainer, illuninatives.org [3 minute read]
• More than Mascots: It’s Time to End Cultural Appropriation of Native Americans in Sports, Nielsen (May 16, 2021). [6 minute read]
• Indigenous Peoples in Maine are Not Mascots | Maulian Dana | TEDxDirigo, YouTube: TEDx Talks (December 13, 2019). [13:23 minute video]
• From teepees to headdresses, pictures define Native American cultural appropriation, National Geographic (December 2018). [10 minute read]

DAY 18 | Appropriation and Intellectual Property

• New York Fashion Week Designer steals from Northern Cheyenne/Crow artist Bethany Yellowtail, nativeappropriations.com (Feburary 18, 2015). [8 minute read]
• Minnetonka CEO apologizes for appropriating Native American culture, NPR (October 12, 2021). [3 minute read]
• Crimes of Fashion: Intellectual Property and Indigenous Dress | Glocal Notes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , (April 13, 2016) [6 minute read]
• How Can the Design Industry Avoid Appropriation?, Architectural Digest (August 21, 2018) [8 minute read]
• Dulaney-Browne Library: Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous People: Introduction

DAY 19 | Religion

• Native Americans and Freedom of Religion, National Geographic (April 27, 2020). [3 minute read]
• Native Perspectives on the 40th Anniversary of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, The Smithsonian Magazine (November 30, 2018). [7 minute read]
• Defend the Sacred: Native American Religious Freedom, Berkley Forum (October 21, 2020). [8 minute read]
• Vine Deloria Jr. on Our Relationship to the Unseen, YouTube: Sacred Land Film Project (May 7, 2015). [5:29 minute video]

DAY 20 | Language Preservation

• Native American Culture - Language: the Key to Everything | Ron (Muqsahkwat) Corn, Jr, TEDxOshkosh [11:57 minute video]
• Reading, Writing and Preserving: Native Languages Sustain Native Communities | NMAI Magazine, American Indian (Summer 2017). [7 minute read]
• Preserving Native Languages: No Time to Waste | The Administration for Children and Families, Administration for Children and Families [3 minute read]
• Native American Languages Act: Twenty Years Later, Has It Made a Difference?, Cultural Survival (July 18, 2012). [7 minute read]

DAY 21 | Allyship

• Changing the Narrative About Native Americans - Guide for Allies, illuminatives.org [30 minute read]