November is designated Native American Heritage Month. From nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov: “The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum all join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.” You can also read about how Native American Heritage Month came about on this website.

Some other websites dedicated to Native American Heritage Month:

• National Archives
• National Endowment for the Humanities (EDSITEment), a guide for teachers
• National Park Service
• Smithsonian Education

The library is featuring books by and about Native Americans this month. You can read memoirs, novels, histories, children’s books, and more, to learn about the experiences of contemporary and historic Native Americans. See the list of books included here. Some examples:

• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People
• Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask
• There, There by Tommy Orange (a novel)
• Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo (a memoir)

For those who like to learn through other media, Kanopy has a featured set of films for Native American Heritage Month. And you can read about several new television series featuring indigenous stories in this article from The Guardian.

Also included in the exhibit in the library is a set of 3-D printed replicas of arrow points found around Lake Bomoseen in Castleton, from around 12,000 years ago. They were scanned here at CU’s Innovation Lab, and were donated to the college recently as part of the Benford collection.

November 8th is First-Generation College Celebration Day, sponsored by the Center for First-Generation Student Success. From their website:

“Since 2017, institutions, corporations, non-profits, and K-12 schools from across the nation have celebrated first-generation students, faculty, staff, and alumni on November 8 and highlighted the important contributions they make within their communities.”

“Join us in advancing an asset-based national narrative on first-generation student experiences and outcomes. Use November 8 to encourage your communities to better understand the systemic barriers plaguing higher education and the supports necessary for this important and resilient population to continue thriving.”

“November 8 was selected as the date…to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965…Much like other hallmark legislation of that era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, HEA was intended to help level a playing field that for too long had been weighed against Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds…Additionally, HEA ushered in programs, particularly the Federal TRIO programs, necessary for post-secondary access, retention, and completion for low-income, potential first-generation college graduates.”

The library has a book display up honoring authors and other accomplished individuals who were in the first generation in their family to go to college. You can see the list of books included here. Of course this is just a tiny sampling of the achievements of this resilient and persistent segment of the college graduate population.