Local Organizations Celebrated Native American Heritage Month this Weekend

Local artist Kiki King along with Queer Humboldt, Stop the Hate and other organizations hosted vendors, tribal members and community members at the Arcata Veterans Hall to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. 

“I feel like the thanksgiving holiday is really like a day of mourning for native people and so given that, we have Black Fridays, “King said. “I always just felt like it was important to center native people and bring native community together as well as invite the community to be involved with native people”

The gathering had performances and demonstrations such as the Kibby Family Pow Wow demonstration, as well as traditional native drummers and singers from out of the area. 

“We’re actually using proceeds from our sales at our tables to pay for the performances,” King said. “I’m really, really grateful that we were able to connect on such short notice and I feel like it really made the event grand and beautiful, it was a really, really incredible performance.”

Although Native American Heritage month is set in November, everyday native heritage can be celebrated–through education, acknowledgement, and community building.

“Native American Heritage Month means a time of celebration and honoring the survival of my ancestors and the ancestors of everyone who is Indigenous to this continent,” Miss Indian World, Tori McConnell said. “They went through a lot for us to get here, and they gave us something really beautiful, which is our culture and our land and our arts and each other.”