Native American Heritage Month
The month is a time to celebrate the rich and
diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and acknowledge
the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month
is also an opportune time to educate the general public about
tribes, to raise general awareness about the unique challenges
Native people have faced both historically and in the
present, and how tribal citizens have worked to
conquer these challenges(www.ncai.org).
Each November, Americans celebrate the culture and heritage
of Native Americans, who deeply enrich the quality and character
of our Nation; we also recognize the many sacrifices,
contributions, and achievements of Native American people.
There are 2.9 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives in
the United States. This population has origins in hundreds of distinct and culturally diverse peoples from throughout North and South America; well over 600 tribes are federally recognized within the contiguous 48 states and Alaska, and many more are recognized by individual states (www.goiam.org)
Youth homelessness awareness month
“School was a tricky thing for me to navigate while I was experiencing homelessness. I would
say I had a unique situation. I was generally homeless; I stayed at a shelter instead of being out
on the streets and my relationship with my parents was good. One of the barriers that I faced
while attending school was transportation. The school was across town so I had to ride the bus early in the morning and later in the evening, leaving little time to do fun things or study for class after school. Honestly, I don't know why I continued to go to school during this period but I'm glad that I did” -South Eugene High School Graduate
MCKINNEY-VENTO
See the button below for more information
During the 2019-2020 school year, 4J staff identified 707 students K-12 who were experiencing
homelessness. That is 4.08% of 4J’s total student population. In comparison, the state average
for the same period was 3.62%.
The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law that protects the educational rights of students.
Learn about:
● Who is Eligible
● Common Signs
● Protected Education Rights
● Contact information for 4J McKinney-Vento Liaisons
NOT JUST A SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITY
Looking Glass Community Services observed that youth who are new to the street are more
likely to experience chronic homelessness if the community doesn’t intervene within 14 days.
When former Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz heard this, he committed to finding a way to engage
the entire community to ensure that youth would never have to choose to spend a 15th Night
on the street.
15th Night is a youth-informed community effort to address youth homelessness.
www.15thnight.org In 2017, the 15th Night Youth Action Council pointed us in the direction of
schools. That same year, Dr. Andy Dey, then the principal of South Eugene High School
welcomed 15th Night to the high school to figure out how school’s could better support students experiencing homelessness. We learned right away that whatever we created had to be for ALL students who needed ANYTHING for ANY reason.
The 15th Night believes that if all students have easy access to school-based resources then
students who are unstably housed will develop a stronger support system to help them stay
engaged in their education. This process starts by listening to school staff and students to
identify existing school-based resources, pinpoint priority needs, uncover barriers and empower
students to be involved in the solutions.
For example, South Eugene High School teacher Joel Kuiper supports the student-led
Economic Justice League (EJL). The EJL manages the school’s food pantry, clothing boutique,
resource room and advocates for expanded resources.
The 15th Night is now in all (5) 4J high schools which includes the implementation of a
technology called the Rapid Access Network (RAN) to help all staff connect all students to
school-based resources in real-time via a text message and email. Trista Neuman is the 4J
15th Night Coordinator monitoring and triaging the school RANs, recruiting Community
Responder volunteers (see attached), helping to remove barriers and supporting student groups
like the EJL to help meet the needs of their peers. Contact Trista at neuman_t@4j.lane.edu for
more information.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
“I relied a lot on the people around me to help keep me motivated. I had one or two teachers to
talk to about my issues and help me access resources. I also had some mentors in the
community that helped me a lot by keeping me on the right track and opening opportunities that probably would have been unavailable to me otherwise.”
15th Night Youth Action Council Member
Reading 📚
Reclaiming Two-Spirits decolonizes the history of gender and sexuality in Native North America. It honors the generations of Indigenous people who had the foresight to take essential aspects of their cultural life and spiritual beliefs underground in order to save them.
Listening to 🎧
On each episode the hosts delve into a different topic facing Native peoples today, bringing in guests from all over Indian Country to offer perspectives and stories. They dive deep, play some games, laugh a lot, cry sometimes, and hope that you’ll join them on the journey .
Watching 🎞
The indigenous existence in Western and American culture is narrowly viewed and accepted with little to no input from actual Indigenous people. Gregg Deal talks about the use of history as a tool while he navigates the restrictions thrust upon his work as a contemporary artist while challenging those who hear his words to take responsibility for their knowledge and create room for this nation’s First Peoples.