Indigenous Heritage Month is More Than a Month It’s American History

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Advocates,

The Equity Team - E-Team - presents CULTURAL HERITAGE MONTHS: MORE THAN A MONTHLY DIGEST. This monthly digest is being initiated for the Friends of the Children-Portland community and friends of Friends to communicate, internally and externally, community events and resources which educate and celebrate diversity.

Each issue of The Cultural Heritage Monthly Digest will center the real experiences of highest priority populations* (*highest priority populations are racialized, minoritized, and oppressed populations disproportionality impacted by systemic racism).  

The American History taught and consumed often practices the omittance of communities of color and their culture. Cultural Heritage Months are counter-narratives! BIPOC History is American History – and each one is more than a month. This monthly digest will foreground the history, achievements, beauty, and resiliency of community of color and culture in America.  

Our goal is to hold a learning space; a sharing space that creates opportunities to learn more about ourselves by learning more about each other, specifically folks with different backgrounds than ours.  

We stand committed in our value to Demand Equity.

• We will do our part as individuals, as an organization, and community in the pursuit of dismantling racism and advancing racial equity.
• We will commit to decolonizing spaces, reimagining structures, shifting culture, building bridges to resources, and centering the experiences/realities of our BIPOC identifying youth, staff, and families.

Be Inspired & Change Narratives!

Randy C. Corradine
Director of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Resources for you:

Books:

• There There by Tommy Orange
• Ceremony by Leslie Marmon
• Not Your Princess Young Adult Anthology Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
• Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
• People’s History of The United States by Howard Ziin

Youth Books:

• In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall
• The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People by Debbie Resse and Jean Mendoza
• If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

Film/Documentaries:

• Smoke Signals – Film
• Whale Rider - Film
• We Still Live Here- PBS Documentary
• 500 Nations – Netflix Documentary
• We Shall Remain – Documentary
• American Outreach – Film