[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 45 (Monday, November 14, 1994)]
[Pages 2311-2312]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6756--National American Indian Heritage Month, 1994

November 5, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    There is a yearning among American people for a sense of community, 
a sense of belonging, a sense of shared beliefs and common goals. Today, 
across the country, we are searching for ways to come together in 
friendship and mutual respect. As we look toward the promise of the 21st 
century, it is important that we reflect on our shared heritage and on 
the valuable lessons history teaches.
    At this momentous time, we pay tribute to this country's first 
peoples--the American Indians. We celebrate the innumerable 
contributions that generations of American Indians and Alaska Natives 
have made to our country and to our world. Before there were colonists 
on these shores, long before our Nation's founders drafted the U.S. 
Constitution, American Indians had established powerful civilizations 
and rich and thriving cultures. Government, art, music, spirituality, 
and a deep and abiding respect for the natural environment--all of these 
are enduring traditions of the American Indians.
    Native peoples were the first environmentalists, understanding that 
air, water, plants, and animals must be treated with respect if they are 
to remain available for generations to come. American Indians taught the 
first European settlers how to survive in new surroundings and helped 
them to explore uncharted wilderness. Native peoples have represented 
this country in every war, from the American Revolution to the Persian 
Gulf, and are proud members of every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. 
Artists such as R. C. Gorman and Fritz Scholder and writers such as 
Louise Erdrich and N. Scott Momaday have made remarkable contributions 
to art and literature.
    The relationship between the U.S. Government and the American 
Indians has not been without controversy. As we look back on our 
history, we must acknowledge often profound mistakes. But we also must 
look to and plan for a future of cooperation and respect. With the 
recent passage of the Indian self-governance and self-determination 
amendments of 1994, we celebrate the government-to-government 
relationship that exists between the Indian tribes and the United 
States. This legislation reaffirms and strengthens the political ties 
between all of the nations of this land.
    To acknowledge the varied and inestimable contributions of the 
native peoples and to celebrate this proud legacy, the Congress, by 
House Joint Resolution 271, has designated November 1994 as ``National 
American Indian Heritage Month'' and has authorized and requested the 
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim November 1994 as National American 
Indian Heritage Month. I urge all Americans, as well as their elected 
representatives at the Federal, State, and

[[Page 2312]]

local levels, to observe this month with appropriate programs, 
ceremonies, and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:36 a.m., November 8, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 9.