The Postal Service is observing November as Native American Heritage Month, an annual commemoration of the Indigenous peoples and cultures of the United States.
The observance started in 1990 with a joint resolution approved by President George H.W. Bush proclaiming November as “National American Indian Month.” All presidents have followed suit each year, but in 2009, “Native American” replaced “American Indian” in its name.
USPS has issued scores of stamps celebrating Native American subjects over the years, beginning with a 4-cent stamp of a buffalo hunt in 1898. The most recent is Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture, released last year.
Other recent stamps include Chief Standing Bear, which honors the Ponca chieftain who won his freedom in court, setting an important legal precedent for Native Americans; George Morrison, commemorating the Chippewa modernist artist; Raven Story, referencing a mythological trickster character important to several Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest; and Art of the Skateboard, featuring designs from two Indigenous artists.
