NPS Celebrates National Native American Heritage Month 2024

The Norwalk Board of Education is proud to recognize November as National Native American Heritage Month. National Native American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories of indigenous or First Nation people. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the unique challenges they have faced.

This year’s national theme, as designated by Indian Affairs under the U.S. Department of the Interior, is “Weaving together our past, present and future.” The focus is on the failed policies of the past with a focus on the Federal Indian Boarding Schools and moving into the present and the work being done to address the intergenerational trauma Native people still face.

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution, Indian Affairs is working to record the lasting impacts of that era and share that information with all Americans.

Early on, it was believed that the name Norwalk came from “north walk” – a day’s walk to the northern edge of the land purchased from the Native Americans. According to the Norwalk Historical Society, maps from the 17^th Century show reference to the Marimakes, Indigenous People who lived in the area, and labeled the area as “Norwalke,” meaning point of land. At the time of English settlement, it is thought that there were between 200 and 300 Indigenous People living in the area.

On February 26, 1640, Roger Ludlow entered into a treaty with Chief Mahackemo of the small Norwalk tribe of Siwanoy and purchased “all lands lying between the Saugatuck and Norwalk rivers, to the middle of said rivers, and from the sea, a day’s walk into the country.” In subsequent years, many Indigenous People became enslaved, indentured servants or were forced to move from the area. 

Since 1990, Congress has authorized an annual presidential proclamation that designates November as National American Indian Heritage Month to encourage all people to learn about the Indigenous peoples of the North American continent. Similar proclamations under various names, including “Native American Heritage Month” and “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month,” have been issued each year since 1994.

By declaring this National Native American Heritage Month, the Board of Education encourages our community to learn about and honor the history and culture of Native Americans here in Norwalk and across the country, as well as Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.