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National Native American Heritage Month honors and celebrates the history and culture of Native Americans. This celebration contributes to the visibility of Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian peoples in our community and beyond.
The land that we now call Portland, Oregon rests on the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of the Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Mollalah and many others who made their homes along the Columbia River. Multnomah is a band of Chinooks that lived in this area. We thank the descendants of these Tribes for being the original stewards and protectors of these lands since time immemorial. We acknowledge the ongoing systems of genocide, relocation and assimilation that still impact many Indigenous/Native American families and communities today.
At Central City Concern, we’re honored to be guests upon these lands. For more information on Native American lands, languages, and treaties, take a look at this interactive map.
A special thank you to the Portland State University Indigenous Nations Studies program for crafting this land acknowledgement.
As we consider the impact of colonization on Indigenous/Native American communities, let us not forget the legacy of ancestral resilience in Native peoples. For more on Indigenous resilience, check out this article.
Native American Heritage Month Resources
- A chronological timeline of American history through a Native lens
- Virtual conference on Indigenous public health
- View the Native American Heritage Month website for a list of virtual events
