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Language: en

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Guw’aadzi&nbsp;haupa, hello everyone, and Happy&nbsp;
National Native American Heritage Month! 
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I’m proud to join you all from the Ancestral&nbsp;
Homelands of the Anacostan and Piscataway people,&nbsp;&nbsp;

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here in Washington, D.C., to kick&nbsp;
off a month of celebration. 
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This month we honor the gifts of our&nbsp;
ancestors by celebrating Indigenous knowledge,&nbsp;

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traditions, language, and culture. 
 
But at Interior we do that every day. 
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We respect Indigenous knowledge in&nbsp;
our work to fight climate change&nbsp;&nbsp;

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and Build Back Better than ever before. 
 
We’re committed to robust Tribal consultation&nbsp;&nbsp;

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and living up to our trust&nbsp;
and treaty responsibilities. 
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We center our work on the&nbsp;
voices of Indigenous people&nbsp;&nbsp;

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as we address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous&nbsp;
Peoples Crisis and take action to help people&nbsp;&nbsp;

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heal from the painful forced assimilation&nbsp;
practices of the Indian Boarding Schools. 
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All of our work is done with the&nbsp;
leadership of President Biden&nbsp;&nbsp;

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and an all-of-government approach to ensure&nbsp;
Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian,&nbsp;&nbsp;

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and Island communities have a seat at the table.
 
As the first Native American cabinet secretary,&nbsp;&nbsp;

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I know that we have a lot of work to do,
but I also know that our ancestors are&nbsp;&nbsp;

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smiling down on us, giving us strength,
and are proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. 
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Native American history IS American history, and&nbsp;
it is only by recognizing that history that we can&nbsp;&nbsp;

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build a future that is equitable and inclusive. 
 
Happy Native American Heritage Month, everyone!