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- By Native News Online Staff
Happy Native American Heritage Month! Each November, Native American Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States. While many Native Americans like to say we celebrate being Native Americans year round, it the month present opportunies to reflect on our ancestors, history, and culture.
Here are some stories you may have missed this past weekend:
Two Federal Judges Rule U.S. Government Must Spend $6 Billion on Food Aid Amid Shutdown
Two federal district judges said the U.S. government has $6 billion available to spend on food aid for millions of people who had prepared for those benefits to end tomorrow on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide her with an update Monday on the status of how it plans to spend—or how it has spent—the $6 billion that Congress approved in 2024 as a contingency fund for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The fund is available through September 2026 and supports roughly 42 million Americans, including up to one-half million Native Americans.
Talwani ordered the USDA to announce whether it “will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November and, if so, their timeline for determining whether to authorize only reduced SNAP benefits using the contingency funds or to authorize full SNAP benefits using both the contingency funds and additional available funds.”
The Celebration They Can’t Cancel: Native Heritage Month Lives On
Noticeably absent this year is a proclamation from President Donald Trump, who declared National Hispanic Heritage Month but has not issued one for Native American Heritage Month.
Just days after the start of Trump’s second term, on Jan. 28, 2025, an internal memorandum from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) announced it would no longer observe National American Indian Heritage Month, along with 10 other cultural and historical observances, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, and Holocaust Days of Remembrance.
“DIA will pause all activities and events related to Agency Special Emphasis Programs effective immediately and until further notice,” the memorandum stated, adding that “Special Observances hosted throughout the year are also paused.”
Remembering My Grandma During Native American Heritage Month
While young Ellen survived, 87 Native children who attended Genoa during its 50 years of operation never made it home. She eventually returned to Mayetta, and a few years later, my grandfather, Levi Whitepigeon, traveled from Michigan to marry her. They settled in Grand Rapids and spent 50 years together before my grandfather passed two months after their golden wedding anniversary. Together they had 10 children — the roots of our family tree.
Grandma passed away 30 years ago. Last Wednesday, my daughter, artist Monica Rickert-Bolter, texted our family a photo of her latest rendering It features Grandma Whitepigeon. The rendering, called "Gizhénam: The Greats (WIP)," is part of the "Sight of Resistance" exhibition that is up until January 2026 at the Center for Native Futures in Chicago, a gallery Monica co-founded.
Monica’s text gave me goosebumps. Her rendering captures Grandma’s contagious laugh perfectly — a laugh I can still hear. The laugh on Grandma’s face took me back to my childhood, when the Whitepigeon family would picnic at local parks on Saturday evenings. Those gatherings were full of Indian humor and loud laughter.
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