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A man in full Native American regalia performs a traditional dance in downtown Columbia.

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

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A man in full Native American regalia performs a traditional
11/4/23 – Native Americans and their rich heritage are celebrated during an event in the Merriweather District of Columbia.

We want to respectfully honor the Susquehannock Confederation who governed, lived, farmed, and hunted on the land we now call Howard County. Their nations conceded into land treaties in 1652 and 1661 after English colonizers ended their generational governance and stewardship of the land Howard County is built upon. This practice of land acknowledgement is to honor and respect the indigenous inhabitants both from the past and the present.

As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, you have an opportunity to learn about Native Nations – who are still present and part of modern American life. You can read books by indigenous voices, including novelist Louise Erdrich, past US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer. You can pick up a list of more indigenous stories at any library branch.

HCLS has a two special events, as well as a variety of classes for all ages: Visit bit.ly/NAHM-24 for the full list. We hope to see you!

Sixth Annual NAHM Celebration

Sat, Nov 2 | 12 – 4 pm
Color Burst Park, Merriweather District, Columbia
A fun event for the entire family, the celebration includes live performances, arts and crafts, authentic vendors, and delicious Navajo tacos!
Featuring:
Author Traci Sorell
Brett Walking Eagle, seen on The Voice
Sponsored by: Downtown Columbia Partnership
In partnership with Nave Be Diné, Howard County Executive, Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity, Howard Hughes Corporation, Columbia Association, and Columbia Community Care.

Author Works with Chef Sean Sherman

Sean Sherman stand in front of his bright red food truck, Tatanka Truck, with a bison in the four sacred colors on the window. Blue skies and red construction cranes appear in the background.

For teens and adults.
Online. Register to receive a link.
Wed, Nov 20 | 7 – 8 pm

Chef Sean Sherman, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, discusses his award-winning cookbook The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen. His focus is on the revitalization and evolution of Indigenous food systems throughout North America. Through his activism and advocacy, Sean is helping to reclaim and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous communities around the world.

Sherman was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty. His goal is to make Indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) and its Indigenous Food Lab, a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. Working to address the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways, NATIFS imagines a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.

In 2017, Sean published his first book with author Beth Dooley, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, which received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook in 2018. He is also the recipient of the 2019 Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, Sean opened Minnesota’s first full service Indigenous restaurant, Owamni by The Sioux Chef, which received the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America for 2022. Most recently, Chef Sean Sherman was honored as TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023 and in 2023 was named recipient of the ninth annual Julia Child Award for culinary activism and innovation.

A Native man in full regalia dancing, silhouetted against a bright blue sky.

Native American Heritage Month Celebration

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A Native man in full regalia dancing, silhouetted against a bright blue sky.

Saturday, November 4 | 11 am – 3 pm
Color Burst Park
6000 Merriweather Dr., Columbia

2 pm: Author Steven Paul Judd
Performers include:
Carly Harvey, Tsalagi and Tuscarora: singer
Brett Walking Eagle, Dakota Sioux: flute player and singer
Angela Gladue, Cree: hoop dancer
Shawn IronMaker, Ft. Belknap: singer
Lance Fisher, Northern Cheyenne: singer
Chris EagleHawk, Lakota/Pueblo: traditional dancer
Four members, Iroquois-St. Regis Mohawk: smoke dancers
Misty Nace & Nathan Solorio, Cree: dancers
Jennifer Night Bird Miller, Cree: jingle dancer

Interview with Steven Paul Judd:

Two Native American teens, one kneeling looking through a magnifying glass, and the other wearing a ribbon skirt and red sneakers.

Steven Paul Judd was a student who loved movies when he decided to apply for a fellowship with ABC Disney. His submission, a speculative script for the television show My Name is Earl, secured him the fellowship and the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to write. This launched his career which now includes not only screen writing, but also fashion, books, painting, and whatever artistic medium inspires him in the moment. His substantive works often include satire with pop culture themes that lift Native American culture.

Judd, who is of Kiowa and Choctaw heritage, talks about his work at the fifth annual Native American Heritage Month Celebration on Saturday, November 4. Judd says these types of events are important, “because when people think about Native Americans and Native American heritage, they obviously think of the past, but we are also doing things today. Like, I’m a writer. It’s a perfect opportunity to broaden people’s awareness about Native Americans in the arts.”


When asked about the inspiration for his bestselling Rez Detectives series, Judd says he did it for his childhood self, who saw little representation of Native culture in books. “I would have loved to have something like this when I was a kid! I loved comic books,” he says. The book was co-authored with his friend Tvli Jacob.

Things have changed considerably since 2011 when he first hit the Hollywood scene, Judd says. “There wasn’t a lot of indigenous representation in the (television) industry. Now you see a lot more. There’s Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, and of course, Dark Wind, which I write on.”

In his spare time, when he’s not creating, Judd pursues his passion for securing Indigenous treaty rights. “It’s a pet project,” he says. “No one is going to right the wrongs of the past for moral reasons…you have to prove things legally.”

“Dig it if you can,” a catch phrase used by Judd, is the title of an award-winning documentary on his life created by filmmaker Kyle Bell. Catch it on Vimeo.