PRINTER'S NO. 2338

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

536

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY V. BROWN, MILLARD, VEREB, BOYLE AND YOUNGBLOOD,

OCTOBER 14, 2015

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,

Americans, have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry

of the heritage and history of the United States and this

Commonwealth and, throughout their history in this great land,

have faced moments of triumph and tragedy alike; and

WHEREAS, American Indians have inhabited the land which is

now known as Pennsylvania for 5,000 years; and

WHEREAS, Former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Historical and

Museum Commission, Dr. George P. Donehoo, acknowledged that, "No

state in the entire nation is richer in Indian names or in fact

Indian history than Pennsylvania"; and

WHEREAS, Precolonial Indian villages and ancient burial

mounds, which were plentiful and spread en masse across the

territory now known as Pennsylvania, were destroyed or lost due

to agricultural development and industrialization; and

WHEREAS, McKees Rocks Mound in McKeesport is one of those

ancient burial mounds in this Commonwealth that stands as a

testament to the highly civilized societies of indigenous

American peoples and is reported as one of the oldest places of

human habitation in eastern North America; and

WHEREAS, Many of Pennsylvania's busiest highways, such as

Route 1, Route 40, Route 30, Route 611 and Route 590 started as

WHEREAS, Many American Indian peoples live in our urban

cities, including 4,000 in Philadelphia and more than 81,092 in

Pennsylvania according to the 2010 Census; and

WHEREAS, Many of the American Indians living in our counties,

cities, townships, boroughs and towns have gone through great

adversities to maintain their cultural and ethnic identities;

and

WHEREAS, From the 1800s through the 1900s, many southern and

northern American Indians were mislabeled "colored," "Negro,"

"mulatto" and "white," resulting from the dilution of their

future generations; and

WHEREAS, American Indian culture and American Indians are to

be respected and honored; and

WHEREAS, The Commonwealth acknowledges the importance of

educating the citizens of this Commonwealth about the heritage,

history, art, archeology and traditions of the American Indian

peoples and communities in Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, American Indians continue to contribute to the

culture of this Commonwealth through the ancestral preservation

of their heritage; and

WHEREAS, Their dedicated efforts to honor their proud

WHEREAS, Indigenous Peoples Day commemorates the

contributions and resiliency of indigenous communities while

also celebrating the preservation of their unique cultural

heritage and ethnic identities; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and

honor the myriad of contributions of American Indians, recognize

the strong and living traditions of the first peoples to call

our land home and look forward to working with American Indians

in an effort to further preserve their heritage within this

Commonwealth; and be it further