Meeting in A

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MEETING FOR LEADERS IN A BOX

Terminology: Native American, American Indian or Native American Heritage Indigenous? 2 Month Timeline: Native American History in the U.S. 3 In November, we celebrate the culture of the diverse com- DiversityInc’s munity of people in North America who identify as Native Facts & Figures 6 American and Alaska Native as part of Native American Heritage Month. This Meeting in a Box is a valuable tool to Leadership Spotlight: Career share with employees as part of your organization’s profes- Advice from sional development and cultural competence educational Native American resources. This month, we will highlight the contributions Business Leaders 10 of the Indigenous community in the U.S. and the working world, as well as its people’s resilience, history and vibrant cultures.

n the 1960s, many Indigenous and non-Indigenous ican and others prefer American Indian. Some use both peoples challenged the use of the word “Indian” to terms interchangeably. The term Indigenous peoples describe Native Americans for several reasons. First, acknowleges that those who are Indigenous come from it was a misnomer. The name came to be because many different cultures and populations. The general IChristopher Columbus believed he had landed in the consensus is that the best way to refer to an Indigenous West Indies when he reached the Caribbean. Therefore, person is by their tribe, if they know that information. many argued it was a term that colonizers gave them. Both Native American and American Indian are gener- Another argument was that Indian was a pejorative be- al terms, but different tribes have distinct cultures and cause it had been used in the media (think: the “cow- customs. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all term for boys and Indians” trope) to simplify, romanticize and these groups. It depends on the individual’s preferences disparage Indigenous peoples. However, as the term and personal cultural identity. Native American became more widely accepted as the politically correct term, many people in the community have objected to it, saying it is a sterilized, generic term that did not acknowledge history. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES

Many continue to identify as American Indians because • Why is it important to use proper terminologies to Qrefer to people’s identities? it is the only title for an ethnic group that places “Amer- ican” before the name, acknowledging their true origins • How does Native American history play into the on the continent. Others also argue there is power in various terminologies that refer to Indigenous the incorrectness of the term Indian because it does not peoples? erase the history of European colonizers. “We were en- slaved as American Indians, we were colonized as Amer- • What are the implications and effects of labeling? ican Indians, and we will gain our freedom as American How can labels be considered either empowering Indians and then we can call ourselves anything we or degrading? damn please,” Russell Means, a Lakota activist, wrote in his 1998 essay, “I Am An American Indian, Not a Native American!”

Indigenous peoples of Alaska are most often referred to as Alaska Natives in legal contexts because of the state’s history of also being part of Russia before the U.S. acquired it. In Canada, Indigenous peoples often identify as First Nations or Aboriginal, and the term “In- dian” is viewed as offensive outside of legal terminology. For historical, ethnic and legal reasons, the Inuit and Métis people of Alaska and Canada are considered sep- arate from First Nations.

However, certain terms are unanimously considered de- rogatory by Indigenous communities, including the term “Eskimo” often used to refer to Inuit people.

All of this terminology may seem confusing, but it is a product of entities trying to lump together and classify diverse people who are members of hundreds of tribes Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com that differ culturally. Some prefer the term Native Amer-

CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. © 2020 DIVERSITYINC 2 MEETING IN A BOX TIMELINE American U.S. senator. 1924 1824 The Indian Citizenship Act grants citizenship to Native Americans born within U.S. borders. Before this act, The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is founded as part of Native American citizenship was limited. the U.S. Department of the Interior. The BIA was designed to subjugate assimilate American Indians and Alaska Natives to U.S. society but has since changed its 1929 purpose to advocate for policies that promote Indian Charles Curtis becomes the first Native American vice self-determination. president under President Herbert Hoover.

James McDonald, Choctaw, becomes the nation’s first 1934 Native American lawyer. He goes on to represent the Choctaw tribe in negotiations with politicians on behalf The Indian New Deal is introduced as an attempt to help of Native American rights. Native Americans rediscover and revitalize their cultural heritage and traditions. Central to this deal is the Indian Reorganization Act, which sought to promote tribal 1830 self-governance. Though many tribes accepted it, many President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal rejected it out of fear of more federal intervention. Act, which evicts Native American tribes east of the Mississippi River and forces them to move to plots of 1941 land in the west. This removal policy later becomes About 25,000 Native Americans serve in World War II known as the Trail of Tears because of the deaths that and 40,000 others work in wartime industries. Some occurred during the forced migration. Native Americans fighting in the war served as "code talkers" who represented over 14 tribes and used their 1851 native languages to convey secret messages. Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Act, which creates the Indian reservation system. It does not allow Native Americans to leave their reservations without permission.

1879 Carlisle Indian Industrial School — run by the government's BIA — opens in Pennsylvania. It forces Native American children to assimilate into white U.S. culture. It goes on to exist for 39 years.

1887 The Dawes Act gives the president authority to divide up land allotted to Native Americans on reservations.

1889 Susan LaFlesche Picotte, Omaha, becomes the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S. She goes on to open her own hospital on the Omaha reservation, the first hospital built on Native American land without government assistance.

1907 1889 Charles Curtis, whose ancestry included Kaw, Osage National Library of Medicine, Public Domain image and Potawatomi lineage, becomes the first Native CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. © 2020 DIVERSITYINC 3 MEETING IN A BOX Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. 1944 1980 The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is In the United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, the formed. It goes on to be the oldest, largest and most Supreme Court rules Sioux Indians are to be offered a representative American Indian and Alaska Native total of about $106 million for the taking of their land of organization advocating for the interests of tribal the Black Hills in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. governments and communities. The Sioux do not take the money and to this day, it sits in a trust fund collecting interest.

1981 The Lakota Times is first published. To this day, it is the 1945 only official South Dakota Native American newspaper on tribal land, based on the Pine Ridge Reservation of Thanks largely to the advocacy of South Dakota. Alaska Native Elizabeth Peratrovich of the Tlingit Nation, the Anti-Discrimination 1985 Wilma Mankiller becomes the first woman to be Act of 1945 is passed, which prohibits elected chief of the Cherokee Nation. Despite threats, discrimination based on race in Alaska. she advanced education, job training, housing and health care for her people. She also doubled annual Cherokee Nation tribal revenue and tripled tribal enrollment. President Bill Clinton awarded Mankiller 1968 the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Indian Civil Freedom, in 1998. Rights Act, which finally grants Native American tribes rights included in the Bill of Rights. 1988 Minneapolis Native Americans host the first Two Spirit N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa writer, publishes “House Gathering, which honored LGBTQ Native Americans Made of Dawn,” his first novel about a young who identified as "two spirits" (a culturally distinct form veteran returning to his Kiowa pueblo after serving of gender fluid identity, of having a masculine and a in the U.S. Army. The novel goes on to win the Pulitzer feminine spirit). Richard LaFortune, a Native American Prize for Fiction in 1969 and is regarded as a catalyst to LGBTQ activist, organizes this meeting. a renaissance in Native literature. He goes on to earn a National Medal of Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship and 1989 12 honorary degrees. The American Indian College Fund is founded to support Native American people’s access to higher education. 1972 More than 500 Native American activists travel to 1990 Washington, D.C., to meet with the Bureau of Indian The Native American Languages Act makes it a U.S. Affairs (BIA) to establish ways to address treaty policy to preserve and protect Native languages. violations. Guards of the BIA building attempt to turn the activists away, but they begin a weeklong Jo Ann Kauffman, Nez Perce, founds Kauffman & siege of the building. The BIA agrees to review the Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm dedicat- demands and transport the activists back home. ed to improving the lives of vulnerable populations.

The Indian Education Act establishes funding for The Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) of 1990 promotes bilingual and bicultural education programs. Native American artwork and small businesses.

1975 President George H.W. Bush designates November as Leaders from over 20 tribes create the Council of National American Indian Heritage Month. Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) to help indigenous communities secure better terms from corporations "Two Spirit" becomes the appropriate label to seeking to exploit resources on reservations. encompass the spectrum of gender identities within Native American communities. © 2020 DIVERSITYINC 4 MEETING IN A BOX 2016 Native Americans from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, 2018 which is set to run through their sacred U.S. House of Representatives, Public Domain image tribal land. In 2017, their motion in court 1992 is denied, but they are still fighting to try to The first Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated in halt construction. opposition to Columbus Day. 2018 Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne, is Sharice Davids, Ho-Chunk, of Kansas and Deb Haaland, elected to serve Colorado in the U.S. Senate. Some of Laguna Pueblo-American, of New Mexico become the his notable achievements included passing legislation first Native American women elected to Congress. to secure Native American water rights, protect wilderness areas, prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, create Colorado's Sand Creek Massacre National 2019 Historic Site and establish the National Museum of the Sioux Tribal Council Member Cody Two Bears founds American Indian in Washington, D.C. “Indigenized Energy,” a nonprofit organization that opens a 300-kilowatt solar farm on the Standing Rock Reservation and educates young people about ancestral 1996 ecological knowledge. President Clinton authorizes a White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities to support and develop tribal colleges. 2020 Native Americans advocate within their tribes for people to fill out the Census to ensure sufficient resources are 1997 allotted to areas where they live. Charlene Teters, Spokane, an artist and activist who protested against the use of Native Americans as mascots, is profiled in Jay Rosenstein’s documentary “In Whose Honor?”

2000 The U.S. Mint issues a dollar coin depicting Sacagawea.

2002 John Bennett Herrington, a Chickasaw member, becomes the first Native American in space.

2008 The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon becomes the first to openly adopt marriage equality policies.

2009 The Federal government agrees to a $3.4 billion settlement with Native American tribes who say they were defrauded out of royalties overseen by the 2016 Department of the Interior since 1887. Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock

After discussing the Native American history and culture as well as the important issues facing their communities, the next step is to look at the available data to understand why equality for Indigenous peoples has profound demographic, financial, educational and business benefits, and what we can do to address challenges these communities face. Here, we also include DiversityInc’s exclusive data on Native American employment, mentoring and sponsorship in our Top 50.

DEMOGRAPHICS NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATION IN THE U.S., 2018

Native American/Alaska Native Alone Native American/Alaska Native, One or More Races 4,267,000 or 1.3% of population 6,900,000 or 2.1% of population

STATES WITH HIGHEST NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATION PROPORTION, 2018

Sources: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI325219#qf-headnote-a http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes/demographics#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Census%20Bureau,%2C%20and%20Montana%20(9.2%25) CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. © 2020 DIVERSITYINC 6 MEETING IN A BOX MOST POPULOUS TRIBES, 2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Did you know there are 574 federally recognized Native American/Alaska Native tribes in the U.S.?

FINANCES

Sources: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/acs/acsbr18-01.html https://www.emarketer.com/chart/227611/us-buying-power-by-raceethnicity-2000-2023-billions

EMPLOYMENT

Sources: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Educational%20Attainment&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1501&hidePreview=false https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/american-indians-and-alaska-natives-in-the-u-s-labor-force.htm

MENTORING AND SPONSORING NATIVE AMERICAN TALENT

*Hall of Fame

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES NATIONAL/FORTUNE 500 DATA • How can our company increase the number of Q Native American/Alaska Native people who NATIVE AMERICAN REPRESENTATION AT DIFFERENT apply and work here? EMPLOYMENT LEVELS • How can we work to engage Indigenous talent 1.7 Number of Native Americans in through mentoring and sponsorship? mil. U.S. workforce

0.2% Native Americans in Fortune 500 executive leadership positions

>0.2% Native Americans on Fortune 500 boards Fotos593/Shutterstock.com Sources: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/american-indians-and-alaska-natives-in-the-u-s-labor-force.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-men-account-72-corporate-212102494.html https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/02/05/missing-pieces-report-the-2018-board-diversity-census-of-women-and-minorities-on-fortune-500- boards/

In this section, we offer career advice from Native American leaders who represent Native American small businesses as well as some of the organizations on the 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list: Amanda Smith, president, Native American Business Association (NABA); Jessica McKinney, lead channel manager at AT&T Business (DiversityInc Hall of Fame); Alex Tsosie Native American Network (BNAN) Enterprise Board President at Boeing Company (No. 27 on 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity); and Michelle Collins, Membership Liaison Representative at Kaiser Permanente (DiversityInc Hall of Fame).

Amanda Smith, President, Native American Business Association

Embrace your culture and heritage. Being Native American doesn’t mean you have to be overlooked. Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams and turn them into goals. Know that there are many obstacles on the road to success. Look at each obstacle as being one step closer to success. Take chances and get out of your comfort zone often. The more you get out of your comfort zone, the more you will grow.

Jessica McKinney (Oglala Sioux), Lead Channel Manager, AT&T Business

Life is a journey and pursuing a career or profession can be the most fulfilling and rewarding, yet frustrat- ing and challenging time of your life. When in doubt, choose the option that will make you proudest. Embrace what makes you unique and different. Your individuality reveals creativity and talent beyond expectations. Stay positive, work hard, and make it happen.

Educate your mind and heart, learn all you can but don’t forget where you came from and the ones behind you. Only then you are a leader.

Michelle Collins, Membership Liaison Representative, Co-Founder and Member Communications Chair of Native American Professional Associa- tion (NAPA), Kaiser Permanente

To quote Mourning Dove 'Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theo- ry of existence.' Fulfill your mission — whatever that may be. Each person you meet will remember your interaction and the impact you’ve made on them. Be true to yourself and remember the struggles your ancestors overcame. If they can do it, so can you. Share your thoughts and beliefs. Do not be afraid to speak your mind.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES • Why is it important for people to see those who have similar backgrounds to them in leadership positions? • How can we increase the visibility of Native American professionals and leaders within our organization?