PHOENIX — Former Governor Doug Ducey declared November 2019 Native American Heritage Month in Arizona to recognize the many historical, cultural and economic contributions of Native Americans in Arizona and across the nation.

Arizona is home to 22 Tribal Nations and communities. The land of these nations and communities comprises approximately 28 percent of Arizona’s land base.

View a PDF of the proclamation HERE.

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WHEREAS, Arizona is situated in a diverse and culturally rich region of 22 various Tribal Nations and communities; and

WHEREAS, these homelands have existed since time immemorial, we acknowledge the contributions of Native Americans long before the formation of the United States and the entry of the State of Arizona into the union; and

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona recognizes the right of these 22 Tribal Nations to exercise sovereign authority, as defined by federal law, over their members and their territory; and

WHEREAS, the land of these 22 Tribal Nations comprises approximately 28 percent of Arizona's land base; and

WHEREAS, these tribal members are citizens of our great State, possess all the rights and privileges afforded by Arizona to its citizens, and, along with other American Indians, comprise approximately five percent of Arizona's population; and

WHEREAS, we revere the memory of fallen patriots who have fought to ensure the freedoms afforded to all citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, we acknowledge the unique challenges faced by American Indians, historically and in the present; and

WHEREAS, it benefits the State of Arizona to partner with tribal nations on issues affecting all of Arizona to ensure the vitality of tribal communities and its members.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Douglas A. Ducey, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim November 2019 as

NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona

GOVERNOR

DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this seventeenth day of October in the year Two Thousand and Nineteen and of the Independence of the United States of America the Two Hundred and Forty-Fourth

ATTEST:

SECRETARY OF STATE

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