LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim November 2015 as American Indian Heritage Month in the State of
New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to set aside months
which foster ethnic pride and enhance the profile of cultural diversity
which strengthens the fabric of the communities of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorial-
ize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2015 as American Indi-
an Heritage Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with National
American Indian Heritage Month; and
WHEREAS, American Indian Heritage Month first began as American Indian
Day, proposed by Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the
director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, New York; he
persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the "First
Americans" and for three years they adopted such a day; and
WHEREAS, In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Associ-
ation meeting in Lawrence, Kansas, formally approved a plan concerning
American Indian Day; it directed its president, Reverend Sherman Cool-
idge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe the occasion; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Sherman Coolidge issued a proclamation on September
28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as American
Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of
Indians as citizens; and
WHEREAS, The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the
second Saturday in May of 1916, by the governor of New York; and
WHEREAS, On August 3, 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a
joint resolution designating the month of November as National American
Indian Heritage Month, thereafter commonly referred to as Native Ameri-
can Heritage Month; and
WHEREAS, It is most fitting to set aside this month to highlight and
honor the history and heritage of the American Indian and to remember
and pay tribute to the contributions they have made to our State and our
Nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 2015 as Ameri-
can Indian Heritage Month in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.