Bulletin Board, Cultures, Profile America, Race and Culture

Profile America: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

November 30, 2018 5:53 AM·

Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month 2018

Friday, November 30th. As American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month concludes, it’s worth noting that much of America’s population lives in states and towns with names derived from those originally given them by America’s first peoples. In fact, 26 states have such names — from Alabama and Alaska to Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, to name just a few. Many towns, such as Malibu, Manhattan and Pensacola have names based on American Indian words, as well as the Mississippi river, Lake Tahoe, the Chesapeake Bay and Niagara Falls. The sources of these names endure, as among today’s nearly 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska natives 5 years old and over, 27 percent speak a language other than English at home.

Profile America is in its 22nd year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Author: Michael Benjamin is a public affairs consultant and an editorial board member at The New York Post. He is a former contributing columnist to the NY Post, City and State NY and other publications. He is a former Member of the New York State Assembly (2003-2010) and once led the Bronx Board of Elections. Since leaving office, he has appeared as a commentator on TWC NY1, Bronxnet OPEN, Good Day NY, and Al Jazeera America. His columns and blog focus on corruption, government, education, politics, redistricting, nuclear energy and race. He holds a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University.