Native American Heritage Day, established to recognize Native Americans as the first people of this nation, is the day after Thanksgiving. But not everyone is happy about the timing of the holiday as this national holiday often goes unrecognized.

While November is Native American Heritage month, to celebrate the importance of our past, present, and future, Barack Obama signed the “Native American Heritage Day Resolution” back in 2009, declaring the Friday after Thanksgiving, Native American Heritage Day. 

“I encourage every American to join me in observing Native American Heritage Day….It is also important for all of us to understand the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans and their status today, and to appreciate the contributions that First Americans have made and will continue to make to our Nation,” said Obama. 

This specific resolution had unanimous support in the U.S. House of Representative and Senate. 

There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States. There are additional tribes recognized only at the state level. 

That being said, the bill was only supported by 184 of those 574 federal tribes. The controversy of this day is high. Brian Perry, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, gave a quote in 2021 during an interview with the “Native Help” blog, about his stance on Native American Heritage Day.

“As a Native American, I feel slighted. The day after Thanksgiving? Almost an afterthought. With November being Native American Heritage Month, there are 28 other days to select from with of course Thanksgiving having its long-established day to itself. Why must we take a backseat to Thanksgiving? Why not the day before Thanksgiving? The day after Thanksgiving is one of the most irrelevant days of the year,” said Perry. 

The Native American community feels as though Native American Heritage Day is overlooked because Thanksgiving has been a federal holiday for much longer.

It is the people who are outside of that community’s job to learn to celebrate Native American Heritage Day. 

 “Are we, Native Americans, the Forgotten America? Our voices are unheard. When a national civil holiday occurs that hardly anyone knows about…I begin to wonder,” said Perry. 

A few ways that non-Native people can help contribute or help celebrate are simple things like reading a book by a Native American author, or trying some authentic Native American recipes. 

They can also visit one of many Native American museums or historical sights. Or to watch a movie or documentary about Native American culture. 

Native Americans have had a great and lasting influence on America, and the nation has a chance to recognize and pay tribute. Native American Heritage Day was established to recognize some of the many attributes of the Native American culture. 

A lot of English words were adopted from the Native language, words like chipmunk, moose, raccoon, skunk, and moccasin are just a few examples. In addition to language, agriculture is another area in which Native Americans have had an impact. 

Native Americans are also responsible for the domestication of plenty of crops like beans, tomatoes, corn, squash, potatoes, tobacco, and berries. 

Native culture deserves a day of recognition. Thanksgiving can symbolize intercultural peace, but when most people think of Thanksgiving, and the day after Thanksgiving,  consumerism and sales come to mind. 

“What is the day after Thanksgiving known as in America? Black Friday—not Native American Heritage Day. It is a day when the American consumer plots out the best bargains at the best retailers at the best times to contribute to the American GDP. Not a word or mention in the mainstream media about Native American Heritage Day, just videos of adult’s fist fighting at 4:00 in the morning in stores over the last trendy toy in stock for this year’s season of giving,” said Brian Perry. 

Nowadays, sales are mostly online, and few people are in stores on the day of Black Friday. As a nation, is giving into a capitalist America more important than remembering how you got here in the first place? 

In 2021 roughly 155 million Americans participated in Black Friday sales, and about 100 million of those people shopped online. 

Digital Insights reported that Black Friday sales in the U.S. have gone down, in 2020 sales were at about $9 billion and in 2021 sales were around $8.9 billion. 

Native Americans want the national holiday to be truly celebrated as a national holiday, Native American Heritage Day.

So, it is up to you this year, will you choose sales and consumerism, or will you choose to recognize the first people of this nation?