November is Native American Heritage Month! Interestingly, American Indian Day was initially celebrated during May. It wasn’t until 1990 when President George H.W. Bush signed a resolution designating the month of November toward recognizing the contributions of the first Americans to United States history.
Helpful resources for Native American professionals
For job seekers looking for open positions, Native American Jobs shares various opportunities as well as resources including a learning center, career coaching, and tips for resume writing. If you are a legal professional, you may consider the National Native American Bar Association, which “represents the interests of all populations indigenous to the lands which are now collectively the United States.”
LinkedIn Groups
As we’ve mentioned before, LinkedIn is one of the most widely known professional networks. Not surprisingly, there are also a good number of groups that are specific to Native American or American Indian professionals.
A few things to take into consideration as you research these communities:
i. Some of the groups are private and require a request to join. Depending on the administrators, most likely you will hear back within 2 business days.
ii. Be mindful of the rules for each group – these are meant to be safe spaces and should not be solely used for promotions.
Without further ado, here are some groups we recommend.
- Native Americans in Business
- About: Native Americans in Business is a place for all people (First Nation or otherwise) in all professions to come together and share in the journey of life. We welcome everyone regardless of their background with the knowledge that our differences are as valuable as our similarities. The group symbol is the medicine wheel, and for many Native Americans/American Indians this serves as a powerful symbol with varying meanings depending on the tribe. However, at its essence the medicine wheel tells us that we are all interconnected, to one other and the world around us. It can also teach us that we each have a role to play in the bigger picture of life.
- BREATHE Black, Indigenous, People of Colour HR Professionals & Allies
- About: BREATHE HR Professionals & Allies is a resource and networking group for all racialized HR Professionals and their allies who are also in HR to share news and views. All HR-related professionals who support this cause are welcome to join. This broad group is open to everyone in HR who work in their personal and work lives to confront and eliminate racism and specifically anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism.This group was created by Tanya Sinclair as a subgroup of the Black Human Resources Professionals of Canada collective, which is a social purpose networking collective for the advancement and representation of Black HR professionals across Canada in the workplace, on executive teams, as entrepreneurs, and on Boards. Using a lens of member collaboration, lived experience, and support to confront anti-Black racism, BlackHRPC provides networking events, professional development, resource sharing, HR expert referrals, mental health support, and mentorship for Black HR Professionals. Disrupting industry, workplace, and leadership status quo!
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- About: The AISES mission is to increase substantially the representation of American Indian and Alaskan Natives in engineering, science and other related technology disciplines.
- American Indian – High Tech Jobs Forum
- About: A forum for top companies to market high-tech related job openings to American Indian, Native Alaskan, and Hawaiian professionals. Also a place for the sharing of best practices for job seekers in today’s IT-centric economy.
- Technology Workers in Native American Enterprises/Government
- About: This group is for IT Professionals who work in Native American enterprises or Government to network, expand opportunities, and gain further knowledge – whether it is Tribal Government, Casinos, Gaming Commission, or other enterprises.
- Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA)
- About: NAFOA’s mission is to improve the quality of financial and business management of tribal governments and their business entities. NAFOA advocates for tribal governments and their enterprises on issues affecting sovereignty, taxation, accounting, and finance, and supports the development of Native American professionals. NAFOA invests in Native American communities by building the next generation of Native American financial leaders through exposing young adults to opportunities in finance. http://www.nafoa.org/
Finally, outside of the professional sphere, we wanted to leave you with this list of upcoming events open to the public. If you attend any of activities, please share what you learned and enjoyed by leaving us a comment!