🚀 go-pugleaf

>For Immediate Release                                   November 1, 1999
>             NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1999
>                             - - - - - - -
>            BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
>                             A PROCLAMATION
>   Ours is a nation inextricably linked to the histories of the many
>peoples who first inhabited this great land.  Everywhere around us are
>reminders of the legacy of America's first inhabitants.  Their history
>speaks to us through the names of our cities, lakes, and rivers; the food on
>our tables; the magnificent ruins of ancient communities; and, most
>important, the lives of the people who retain the cultural, spiritual,
>linguistic, and kinship bonds that have existed formillennia.
>   As we reflect on the heritage of American Indians, Alaska Natives,
>and Native Hawaiians, we also reaffirm our commitment to fostering a
>prosperous future for native youth and children.  At the foundation of these
>efforts is our work to provide a quality education to all Native
>American children.  In particular, we have sought significantly
>increased funding to support Bureau of Indian Affairs school
>construction and 1,000 new teachers for American Indian youth.  My 1998
>Executive order on American Indian and Alaska Native Education sets goals to
>improve high school completion rates and improve performance in reading and
>mathematics.  And we are working to get computers into every classroom and
>to expand the use of educational technology.
>     We are also seeking ways to empower Native American communities and
>help them prosper.  My Administration is expanding consultation and
>collaborative decision-making with tribal governments to promote
>self-determination.  We also support tribal government economic development
>initiatives, particularly those that increase or enhance the infrastructure
>necessary for long-term economic growth.  My New Markets Initiative seeks to
>leverage public and private investment to boost economic development in
>areas that have not shared in our recent national prosperity.  In July, I
>visited the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Sioux, as part of my New
>Markets Tour, to explore opportunities for economic development in Indian
>Country.
>   Among the most serious barriers to economic growth facing tribal
>communities is a lack of housing, physical infrastructure, and
>essential services.  My Administration is working with tribal leaders to
>build and renovate affordable housing on tribal lands, bring quality
>drinking water to economically distressed Indian communities, and
>improve public safety.  We are moving to assist tribal governments in
>developing the physical infrastructure needed for economic development,
>including roads, fiber-optic cabling, and electric power lines.
>   In working together to shape a brighter future for Indian Country, we
>must not lose sight of the rich history of Native Americans.  Just weeks
>ago, the Smithsonian Institution broke ground on the National Mall for the
>National Museum of the American Indian.  This wonderful facility will
>preserve and celebrate the art, history, and culture of America's indigenous
>peoples.  It is also fitting that the first U.S. dollar coin of the new
>millennium will bear the likeness of Sacajawea and her infant son -- an
>image that captures the importance of our shared history.
>   NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
>America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution  and
>laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 1999 as National
>American Indian Heritage Month.  I urge all Americans, as well as their
>elected representatives at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels, to
>observe this month with appropriate programs,
>ceremonies, and activities.
>   IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of
>November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of
>the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
>twenty-fourth.                           WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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