[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75469-75471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24502]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 75469]]


                Proclamation 10667 of October 31, 2023

                
National Native American Heritage Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Native American Heritage Month, we 
                recognize the invaluable contributions of Native 
                peoples that have shaped our country and honor the 
                hundreds of Tribal Nations who continue exercising 
                their inherent sovereignty as vital members of the 
                overlapping system of governments in the United States. 
                We also recommit to supporting Tribal sovereignty; 
                upholding the Federal Government's solemn trust and 
                treaty responsibilities; and working in partnership 
                with Tribal Nations to advance prosperity, dignity, and 
                safety for all Native peoples.

                Since time immemorial, Native communities have passed 
                down rich cultures, knowledge, traditions, and ways of 
                life. But throughout our history, Native peoples' 
                cultures, identities, and governments were not always 
                seen as a part of this Nation but as a threat to it. 
                Native people were pressured to assimilate, banned from 
                practicing their traditions and sacred ceremonies, and 
                forced from their homes and ancestral homelands. This 
                violence and devastation cost countless lives, tore 
                families apart, and caused lasting damage to Tribal 
                communities and institutions.

                Despite centuries of violence and oppression, Native 
                peoples remain resilient and proud. Today, Native 
                Americans are essential to the fabric of the United 
                States. They serve in the United States Armed Forces at 
                higher rates than any other ethnic group. They continue 
                to steward so many of our great lands. Their 
                contributions to science, humanities, arts, public 
                service, and more have brought prosperity for all of 
                us. Their diverse cultures and communities continue to 
                thrive and lead us forward.

                Since the beginning of my Administration, I have been 
                determined to help champion a new and better chapter in 
                the story of our Nation-to-Nation relationships. I 
                started by appointing Native Americans to lead in my 
                Administration--including the first Native American 
                Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, dozens of 
                Senate-confirmed Native American officials, and over 80 
                Native American appointees serving across my 
                Administration and in the Federal courts. I restored 
                the annual White House Tribal Nations Summit to advance 
                communication between key members of my Administration 
                and the leaders of hundreds of Tribal Nations. My 
                Administration formally recognized Indigenous Knowledge 
                as one of the many important bodies of knowledge that 
                contributes to the scientific, technical, social, and 
                economic advancements of the United States and our 
                collective understanding of the natural world.

                Together with leadership from Tribal Nations, we are 
                making historic investments in Indian Country. Our 
                American Rescue Plan invested $32 billion in Tribal 
                Nations--the largest one-time direct investment in 
                Indian Country in American history. Our Bipartisan 
                Infrastructure Law invested more than $13 billion to 
                rebuild infrastructure, the single largest investment 
                in Indian Country infrastructure in history. Our 
                Inflation Reduction Act also made the largest 
                investment ever to combat the existential threat of 
                climate change, including $700 million dedicated to 
                climate change response in Native communities. Last 
                year, I signed a Presidential Memorandum that improves 
                consultation between the Federal Government and Tribal 
                Nations.

[[Page 75470]]

                My Administration is also working to address the 
                impacts of harmful Federal policies of the past while 
                ensuring Native communities are safe and healthy. 
                Through the Department of the Interior's Road to 
                Healing initiative, Native language preservation, 
                public safety initiatives, and bold new investments, we 
                are supporting Native American families and their 
                communities as they heal. We are also working to 
                improve public health and safety for Native Americans. 
                I signed an Executive Order that helps us respond more 
                effectively to the epidemic of missing and murdered 
                Indigenous peoples. Last year, when we reauthorized the 
                Violence Against Women Act, I was proud to include 
                historic provisions that reaffirm Tribal sovereignty 
                and restore Tribal jurisdiction. My budget for Fiscal 
                Year 2024 also requested a $9.1 billion infusion for 
                the Indian Health Service, and I have asked the 
                Congress to make that funding a mandatory part of the 
                Federal budget for the first time in our history.

                We are also committed to partnering with Tribal Nations 
                to protect and steward their sacred and ancestral lands 
                and waters. Through Tribal co-stewardship agreements, 
                we work directly with Tribal Nations to make decisions 
                about how to manage those lands that are most precious 
                to them--recognizing and utilizing the invaluable 
                knowledge they have from countless generations. I 
                established new national monuments protecting lands 
                sacred to Tribal Nations at Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni 
                in Arizona, the Camp Hale-Continental Divide in 
                Colorado, and Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada. I also restored 
                protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts 
                Marine National Monument in New England and Bears Ears 
                and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah.

                This month, we celebrate Native American history and 
                culture. We are reminded that with hard work and a 
                commitment to our founding ideals, we can address the 
                wrongs of our past and become a more perfect Union--one 
                that ensures liberty, justice, dignity, and equality 
                for all.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2023 
                as National Native American Heritage Month. I urge all 
                Americans, as well as their elected representatives at 
                the Federal, State, and local levels, to observe this 
                month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities. Also, I urge all Americans to celebrate 
                November 24, 2023, as Native American Heritage Day.

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                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-24502
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P