Designing in Right Relationship: Honoring American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

November marks the observance of American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, a national tribute to the vibrant, enduring cultures, histories, and profound contributions of Indigenous communities across the country. It is a time for national celebration of Indigenous resilience and wisdom, while also providing a crucial opportunity for reflection and action on the deep repair still needed in our shared story.
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At Tikun Collective, this month resonates deeply with our core mission: to design in right relationship with land, water, air, and community. We believe that honoring this heritage is not just about remembrance, but about applying timeless Indigenous principles to the urgent work of restoration.

Dr. Arthur C. Parker

The Roots of Remembrance: From a Day to a Month

​The official recognition of a month-long observance began in 1990 with a joint resolution approved by President George H. W. Bush. However, the movement to honor Indigenous peoples nationally has far deeper roots, tracing back to the early 20th century and the relentless advocacy of figures like Dr. Arthur C. Parker.
A Bridge Between Worlds: Dr. Arthur C. Parker

Born in 1881 on the Seneca Nation’s Cattaraugus Reservation to a Seneca father and a mother of a Scots-English descent, Dr. Parker was a prominent Seneca archaeologist, scholar, and fierce public advocate. Living and working between two worlds,  his bicultural perspective was instrumental in his life's work.
Unlike many of his peers, Dr. Parker became a respected scholar largely through hands-on apprenticeship, museum mentorship, and self-directed study, rather than a conventional college path. His notable contributions include:

• Pioneering Archaeology: He served as the first state archaeologist at the New York State Museum, using his position to fight against the erasure of Native knowledge and material culture.
• Cultural Preservation: He collected vast Iroquois and Algonquian material culture and documented Seneca traditions, publishing important works like The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet.
• National Advocacy: He was a co-founder of the Society of American Indians (1911), a pan-Indian organization that advocated for cultural survival over forced assimilation, native-led education, and reform of federal Indian policy.

Dr Parker's sustained efforts, dating back to his first push for a "Native American Day" in 1915, planted the seeds for the eventual month-long observance, fighting to secure a national platform that honored Native history, rights, and enduring contributions. His legacy is a powerful example of how knowledge preservation can be an act of restoration and justice.

Seneca Indians

Timeless Wisdom for Modern Design: Indigenous Worldviews at Work

​Like Dr. Parker, who sought to preserve and uplift Indigenous knowledge, Tikun Collective believes that design must be an act of restoration. We acknowledge that the Indigenous worldviews fundamentally see humans as caretakers rather than owners. This shifts the very foundation of our practice away from extraction and toward reciprocity.

For example, Alaska Native values serve as enduring cultural anchors: respect for nature, humility, the value of sharing, and working together. These are not merely cultural ideals; they are powerful, practical design principles for how we build, plan, and live together.

At Tikun Collective, our regenerative work embodies these values through the following principles:

• Relationship over Extraction: Grounding every project in deep community and environmental connection, ensuring the design serves the entire ecosystem, not just human capital.
• Ecological Knowledge: Systematically embedding Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in material and process choices. This includes deep bioregional intelligence and a rigorous material ethics to minimize harm.
• Power and Equity: Redesigning collaboration to support truly community-led initiatives, shifting decision-making power to the people who will live with the outcome.
• Storytelling as Restoration: Using narrative and memory to honor place, people, and belonging in every project, transforming spaces into sites of healing.​

National Day of Mourning Monument

​Reframing November: Decolonizing Thanksgiving

​November also brings the U.S. observance of Thanksgiving. It is crucial to acknowledge the full complexity of what this day represents. While it is often celebrated as a moment of harvest and gratitude, its origins are inextricably linked to painful histories of displacement, loss, and trauma for Indigenous peoples.

This is why, since 1970, Native Americans and their allies have gathered at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to commemorate this day as the National Day of Mourning. Recognizing this truth is a vital step in transforming the holiday from a simple celebration into a moment of reflection, repair, and responsibility.
We approach this season with genuine gratitude for the opportunity to learn from Indigenous teachers, to practice reciprocity with the land, and to design toward healing rather than harm.

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A Call to Action 

​Honoring, reflecting, repairing, and taking responsibility must extend far beyond a single month. One powerful step is simply to learn more to expand your knowledge of the enduring cultures and current realities of Indigenous communities.

​Explore Local Tribal Histories: Acknowledge the Indigenous land you occupy. Start by learning about the history of the Seneca Nation, the community Dr. Parker hailed from, or the Alaska Federal Natives to understand the diversity of Indigenous governance and culture.
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• Visit Historic Sites: Experience the resilience and legacy of ancient and modern communities. Consider sites like:
  • Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings)
  • Taos Pueblo, New Mexico (Continuously inhabited Native American community)
  • Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia (Mississippian culture mounds)
  • Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), Juneau, Alaska

This Month Tikun donated to MASS Design Group’s Bio-Based Materials Collective.

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