[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 211 (Monday, November 2, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 59199-59200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29486]



[[Page 59197]]

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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 7144--National American Indian Heritage Month, 1998



Presidential Determination No. 99-1 of October 21, 1998--Determination 
To Waive Requirements Relating to Blocked Property of Terrorist-List 
States
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 211 / Monday, November 2, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 59199]]

                Proclamation 7144 of October 29, 1998

                
National American Indian Heritage Month, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                American Indians and Alaska Natives--the first 
                Americans--have made enormous contributions to the life 
                of our country. When the first Europeans arrived on 
                this continent, they did not find an empty land; they 
                found instead a land of diverse peoples with a rich and 
                complex system of governments, languages, religions, 
                values, and traditions that have shaped and influenced 
                American history and heritage. Generations of American 
                Indians have served and sacrificed to defend our 
                freedom, and no segment of our population has sent a 
                larger percentage of its young men and women to serve 
                in our Armed Forces. But American Indians are not just 
                an important part of our country's past; they are also 
                a vital part of today's America and will play an even 
                more important role in America's future.

                There are more than 2 million American Indians living 
                in our country today, from the hardwood forests of 
                Maine to the Florida Everglades, across the Great 
                Plains to the Pacific Coast, and throughout the State 
                of Alaska. Through a variety of innovative enterprises, 
                many tribes are sharing in the unprecedented prosperity 
                our country enjoys today, prosperity that is reflected 
                in the construction of community centers, schools, 
                museums, and other cultural centers. However, many 
                people who live in Indian Country are caught in a cycle 
                of poverty made worse by poor health care and a lack of 
                educational and employment opportunity. If we are to 
                honor the United States Government's long-standing 
                obligations to Indian tribes, we must do all in our 
                power to ensure that American Indians have access to 
                the tools and opportunities they need to make the most 
                of their lives.

                As part of this endeavor, my Administration has 
                strengthened the special government-to-government 
                relationship between the Federal Government and the 
                sovereign nations of Indian Country, expanded the role 
                of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 
                Administration, and sought to increase educational 
                opportunities and economic development throughout 
                Indian Country. Earlier this year, I signed an 
                Executive order directing the Federal Government to 
                work together with tribal and State governments to 
                improve Native American achievement in math and 
                reading, raise high school graduation rates, increase 
                the number of Native American youth attending college, 
                improve science education, and expand the use of 
                educational technology. We are also striving to boost 
                economic development in Indian Country by working with 
                tribal governments to meet their technology 
                infrastructure needs, to coordinate and strengthen 
                existing Native American economic development 
                initiatives, and to help Native Americans obtain loans 
                more easily for building homes and starting new 
                businesses.

                Today's Native Americans are among the youngest 
                segments of our population--a new, large generation of 
                young people who, if empowered with the education, 
                skills, opportunity, and encouragement they need to 
                thrive, can lead Indian Country into a future as bright 
                and promising as its extraordinary past. As we observe 
                National American Indian Heritage Month, let us resolve 
                to work together to make that future a reality.

[[Page 59200]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim November 1998 as National 
                American Indian Heritage Month. I urge all Americans, 
                as well as their elected representatives at the 
                Federal, State, local, and tribal levels, to observe 
                this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-29486
Filed 10-30-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P