Madison County Library System Celebrates Native American Heritage Month

Special to The Canton News

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the Madison County Library System will host a presentation by John M. Sullivan, State Archaeologist-Tribal Liaison and Deputy Preservation Officer for the Bureau of Land Management. Sullivan will dress up in early 1700’s frontier clothes and teach about American archeology and early Native American lifeways through show and tell. All ages are welcome.

The Ridgeland Library will host on November 9 at 4 p.m. The Canton Library will host on November 17 at 4 p.m., and the Madison Library will host on November 18 at 4 p.m.

According to the Library of Congress, what started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S. has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose.

The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919. Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day Americans observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month”), have been issued each year since 1994.

Branch Dates & Times:
Ridgeland Library - Nov. 9 at 4 pm
Canton Library - Nov. 17 at 4 pm
Madison Library - Nov. 18 at 4 pm