A Message from EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows for 2024 Native American Heritage Month

Each November we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month, during which we recognize and reflect upon the enduring culture and powerful legacy of Native Americans and their communities.  Native Americans, who have lived in what is now the United States for countless generations before its founding, have always been an integral part of our shared society. And, with 574 recognized tribes and almost 10 million Native Americans living across the United States, it is undeniable that the past, present, and future of our nation is interwoven with the cultural, economic, and political contributions of these vibrant communities.

National Native American Heritage Month is also a time to consider that, despite their status as the first Americans, Native Americans have faced discrimination and prejudice in the United States. As the primary federal agency charged with enforcing our nation’s laws against employment discrimination, the EEOC is steadfast in its resolve to advance equal employment opportunity so that all Native Americans and every worker can work free from bias, segregation, harassment, or other forms of discrimination.

This commitment is reflected in the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan, which expressly recognizes the need to prioritize protection of Native Americans from unlawful discrimination. An important aspect of that plan is outreach to ensure Native Americans know their employment rights and how to exercise them. To that end, the EEOC was pleased to partner recently with Tribal Employment Rights Offices (TERO) directors from the Nez Perce Tribe and Lummi Nation to create a public service announcement to help inform Native Americans of their rights under the nation’s equal employment opportunity laws. In addition, the agency held its second annual TERO and state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies joint conference in April 2024, held dozens of outreach events across the country last Fiscal Year, and regularly participates in the Council for Tribal Employment Rights’ national conventions and its legal update conferences.

Finally, in January 2024, the EEOC launched the Reach Initiative. This multi-year effort led by Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal focuses on ensuring EEOC’s outreach and education efforts are effectively reaching workers who often are the least likely to seek the agency’s assistance, despite their great need. It is particularly concerned with reaching vulnerable workers and underserved communities, including Native Americans and many Tribal nations.

This November, as the EEOC recognizes and honors the many contributions Native Americans have made to our nation, let us also reconfirm our commitment to protecting Native Americans from discrimination, so that they, and all workers, can enjoy equal opportunity, respect, and dignity.

Charlotte A. Burrows (she/her/hers)

Chair

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission