Launched during Native American Heritage Month in November 2021, “This Is Indian Country” is a new visibility campaign by the American Indian College Fund designed to increase awareness of and conversation about Indigenous people and issues especially at a time when Native people are still not seen and heard by most Americans.
“Indian Country” is an official legal term, noted in numerous Supreme Court opinions and referenced in multiple areas of federal law. The term has been used in treaties, policies, and laws that ordered Indigenous assimilation and erasure. Yet, Indian Country is more than just a legal phrase. Indian Country is in the words we speak on reservations and the stories Native people tell. It is in community. It is empowerment. This term may have been used against Native people, but it has been reclaimed.
