- Norman Public Schools
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Cultural Observances
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Flag Day
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Happy Flag Day! June 14 marks the anniversary of the day in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing the design of the original flag of the United States. According to History.com, it was Bernard Cigrand, a Wisconsin teacher, who came up with the idea for an annual flag day. In 1885, Cigrand led his school in the first formal observance of the holiday.
Pride Month
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We support our LGBTQ+ students, teachers, staff and community members. Happy Pride Month!
Memorial Day
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This Memorial Day, we remember the brave men and women who have laid down their lives in service of our country. We are forever grateful.
Jewish American Heritage Month
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May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a national month of recognition of the more than 360-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. This month acknowledges the achievements of Jewish Americans in fields ranging from sports and arts and entertainment to medicine, business, science, government, military service and more.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
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May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, designated to celebrate and recognize the contributions and culture of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. According to asianpacificheritage.gov, May was chosen “to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.”
Autism Awareness Month
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April is Autism Awareness Month, and April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Did you know? According to the Centers for Disease Control, Autism affects an estimated 1 in 44 children in the United States today. The month is designed to educate, promote acceptance and be more inclusive in everyday life. This month we will highlight and honor the contributions of people with Autism to our nation and the world.
Autism Awareness Month Spotlights
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Dan Aykroyd
An original cast member of “Saturday Night Live” from 1975 to 1979, Dan Aykroyd returned to host the show in 2003. Aykroyd says he was diagnosed with Asperger’s in the early 1980s. He attributes the condition to his “obsession with ghosts and law enforcement,” which led to the idea for “Ghostbusters” (1984), one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time. Aykroyd also has discussed being diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at age 12, which caused physical and verbal tics that he was able to overcome through therapy. Source: Healthgrades
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Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle became a star overnight when her 2009 audition on “Britain’s Got Talent” went viral due to her stunning performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables.” She revealed in a 2013 interview with the Observer that she had been diagnosed with Asperger’s the previous year. As a child, Boyle had been misdiagnosed as having brain damage, and the singer said she felt “relief” at having an accurate diagnosis of Asperger’s. “Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself,” Boyle said. Source: Healthgrades
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Temple Grandin
Portrayed by Claire Danes in an Emmy Award-winning HBO movie, Temple Grandin is one of the world’s best-known autism advocates. When she was diagnosed with autism as a young child, doctors wanted to place her in an institution, but her parents insisted on sending her to private schools to nurture her high IQ. Grandin’s life work has been studying the similar ways autistic people and animals experience fear and anxiety, and developing therapies for both groups to relieve those emotions. Grandin has been on the faculty of the Animal Sciences department at Colorado State University for more than 25 years. Source: Healthgrades
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Daryl Hannah
With her roles in “Blade Runner” (1982), “Splash” (1984), and “Steel Magnolias” (1989), Daryl Hannah was one of the biggest film stars of the 1980s before backing away from the spotlight. In 2013, Hannah told People magazine she has lived with autism since childhood. While she found acting to be an escape, she avoided movie premiere events and interviews due to her social anxiety. Hannah, who says she still uses rocking to calm herself, is now a prominent environmental activist. Source: Healthgrades
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Dan Harmon
Dan Harmon is the creator of hit television comedies “Rick and Morty” and “Community,” which featured a character, Abed, who was never defined as having autism, but exhibited many of the traits of Asperger’s. Harmon told Wired magazine that as he researched Asperger’s to write the character, he noticed many of the symptoms felt familiar in himself. He met with a doctor, leading to an Asperger’s diagnosis. Harmon said both he and Abed illustrate that people with autism can have complex experiences—feeling both “inappropriate emotional reactions and deep empathy”—and live as well-rounded, unique individuals. Source: Healthgrades
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Anthony Hopkins
In 2021, at age 83, Anthony Hopkins became the oldest actor to win an Academy Award. Hopkins appears also to be the first Oscar winner with a publicly disclosed diagnosis of autism. The Welsh actor revealed in 2017 that he had received a late-life diagnosis of Asperger’s. He told the CBC that his obsessive and detail-oriented nature is a “great gift” that helped him find success as an actor. Among his colleagues in the film industry, Hopkins is also known for his impressive ability to memorize large amounts of dialogue. Source: Healthgrades -
Elon Musk
When South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk hosted "Saturday Night Live" in May 2021, he announced himself as "the first person with Asperger's" to host the show. As founder of some of history's most groundbreaking companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, Musk ranks among the world's richest people, with an estimated net worth of more than $150 billion. Source: Healthgrades
Arab American Heritage Month
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April is Arab American Heritage Month! The month is designated as a time to celebrate Arab American heritage and culture and to pay tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans.
Women's History Month
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Norman Public Schools is proud to celebrate Women's History Month! During this month we recognize, celebrate and honor the many contributions women have made as significant agents of historical change. Throughout March, we'll be highlighting extraordinary women who changed education.
Women's History Month Spotlights
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Margaret Bancroft
Margaret Bancroft was a pioneer in special education. At the age of 29, she opened the first private boarding school in New Jersey for children with disabilities. She believed that children with special needs should have specialized programs that could be adapted to their unique physical and mental needs. At her school, lessons were designed for their individual mental ages, teachers were trained how to individually tailor instruction and students were able to enjoy recreational activities and trips. A female leader in education, Bancroft’s ideas laid the foundation for what would become the field of special education.
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Dolly Parton
Widely known country music singer/songwriter Dolly Parton is also a certified bookworm. Dolly grew up in a small town in rural Tennessee where many people in her community, including her father, never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. Even as child, Dolly was an avid reader, and often credits her love of reading as part of what inspired her to follow her dreams of being a star.Driven to share the joy of reading with children all over the world, Dolly created The Imagination Library, which delivers age-appropriate books to children that foster a "love of reading and learning; regard for diversity of people, their roles, culture and environment; promotion of self-esteem and confidence, appreciation of art and aesthetics." Dolly hopes that by making reading more accessible to children, she can inspire them to learn and to achieve their dreams. As she once said, "If you can read, even if you can't afford education, you can go on and learn about anything you want to know. There's a book on everything." -
Patsy Mink
When Hawaii became a state in 1959, Patsy Mink knew she wanted to run for a position in government. Little did she know, she would become the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. As a congresswoman, Mink fought for gender and racial equality, affordable childcare and bilingual education and became a supporter of Title IX. She was one of the authors and sponsors of the Title IX law that stated that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” In addition to this enormous feat, she additionally wrote the Early Childhood Education Act and the Women's Educational Equity Act. Mink was also the first Asian-American to run for the office of U.S. President.
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Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai’s story of resilience and fighting for what is right is nothing short of incredible. Growing up in Pakistan, Yousafzai became an advocate for women’s rights and education at a young age. However, due to the Taliban rule of Pakistan, freedoms for women were severely limited, with access to education virtually nonexistent. She has become one of the most prominent advocates of human’s rights and educational access for women. In 2014, at the age of 17, Yousafzai became the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her amazing work in bringing attention to these issues.
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Septima Poinsette Clark
Septima Poinsette Clark was a teacher and civil rights activist whose citizenship schools helped enfranchise and empower African Americans. She was instrumental in founding nearly 900 citizenship schools, which ultimately helped African Americans register to vote.
Black History Month
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Norman Public Schools is proud to celebrate Black History Month in February and beyond! It is a time to recognize African American history, contributions and achievements. This month we take the time to reflect and honor the many significant contributions of Black Americans, specifically highlighting pioneers in the field of education.
Black History Month Spotlights
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Fanny Jackson Coppin
An American educator, missionary and lifelong supporter of higher education for women, Fanny Jackson Coppin was also the country’s first Black principal. With a passion for educating women, she utilized her role to expand the curriculum to focus on industrial work, develop opportunities to exhibit art created by young women and push for her students to be hired by employers in positions that utilized their education. In 1926, a Baltimore teacher training school was named after her. Today, that school goes by Coppin State University. -
Kelly Miller
As the first Black man to attend John Hopkins University and the first Black mathematics graduate student, Kelly Miller pushed academic boundaries. While pursuing his own advanced degrees in mathematics, Miller began teaching at Howard University. In 1907, he became dean of Howard’s College of Arts and Sciences. His contributions in this position included modernizing the curriculum and tripling enrollment in his first four years as a result of a recruitment strategy he pioneered: touring the Southern states in search of students. In his later years, Miller continued to fight for access to higher education for all Black Americans. -
Mary McLeod Bethune
Born a decade after the Civil War ended, Mary McLeod Bethune is widely considered to be one of the most influential Black educators, civil rights leaders and government officials of the 20th century. A dedicated teacher, Bethune founded a boarding school which eventually became Bethune-Cookman College, setting the educational standards for many Black colleges to follow. As a political activist dedicated to civil and women’s rights, Bethune was pivotal in driving voter turnout, especially after women gained the right to vote. She went on to become the highest-ranking Black woman in the government as director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration—a position she was appointed to by President Franklin Roosevelt. From 1940 until her death in 1955, Bethune served as vice president of the NAACP.
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Edmund Gordon
A professor of psychology, Edmund Gordon "had a tremendous influence on contemporary thinking in psychology, education and social policy and the implications of his work for the schooling of lower status youth and children of color in America." Professor Gordon's career spans professional practice, minister, clinical and counseling psychologist, research scientist, author, editor and professor. Gordon was recognized as a preeminent scholar of African-American studies when he was awarded the 2011 Dr. John Hope Franklin Award from Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education. -
Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington was an educator and reformer. He was responsible for the early development and success of what is now Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. He became a noted writer and perhaps the most prominent African American leader of his time. -
Dr. Jeanne L. Noble
Dr. Jeanne L. Noble, an educator and writer, is a holder of a lot of firsts to her name. She was the first African-American to study and write about the experiences of female African-Americans in college, to become a board member of the Girls Scout of the USA, to serve the U.S. government's Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and to receive tenure as a professor at New York University. Noble was an active participant in trying to desegregate her hometown of Augusta, Ga., in the early 1960s and she was also appointed by three U.S. Presidents - Johnson, Nixon and Ford - to serve on educational commissions.
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Charles Hamilton Houston
A dean of Howard University Law School in the 1930s, Charles Hamilton Houston argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court that created a legal foundation for the historic Brown v. Board decision, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools. He’s also credited with shaping the institution that trained about 25 percent of the nation’s Black lawyers during that era.
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Charlotte Forten Grimké
Charlotte Forten Grimké was an African-American educator, poet and anti-slavery activist. She taught freed Black slaves during the Civil War and later became the first Black teacher to teach at South Carolina’s Penn School. She worked with the U.S. Treasury Department to help recruit Black educators. Forten was an anti-slavery activist and was influential in the Civil Rights Movement. Her poetry got published in The Liberator and Anglo African magazines.
Native American Heritage Month
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Fun fact: Did you know that there are 68 Native American tribes represented within NPS?November is Native American Heritage Month, and we are proud to celebrate and honor the rich history and culture of Native Americans and Indigenous people in the United States. We are especially proud to highlight some of our amazing Native faculty and staff who serve within Norman Public Schools. We value the many contributions they make on a daily basis to serve our students and families!
Native American Heritage Month Spotlights
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Lucyann Harjo, Indian Educator Coordinator
Lucyann Harjo chose a career in education because she loves helping and serving others, especially those in Native communities.“I love helping Native children as best as possible and providing them opportunities that we never had, opportunities that propel them into becoming tomorrow’s leaders,” Harjo shared.After starting at Norman Public Schools as a PE teacher at Kennedy Elementary in 1996, Harjo joined the Indian Education team as a tutor and was also a volleyball and basketball coach at Irving Middle School. She has been in her current role as Indian Educator Coordinator since 2005.In total, the Indian Education program has 15 staff members, and the primary focus is preparing students for college and improving academic achievement, Harjo explained. Indian Education also serves as a connection to tribal resources and between schools and each student’s tribal organization, 68 of which are represented within NPS. -
Matt Jackson, Introduction to Ethnic Studies Teacher
For Matt Jackson, a “bit of a guiding quest” for him while in college was learning more about his own history as an American Indian. As the Introduction to Ethnic Studies teacher for Norman Public Schools, Jackson is aiming to help his students have a similar learning experience.“That was impactful for me and had a lot of influence on me as a person just being able to learn those things,” said Jackson, who is a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. “It was beneficial for me, and I think it’s beneficial for students to be able to have some of that experience. As someone who studied history, the whole idea of trying to help kids know their own history was just really important to me.”Jackson first taught at Norman North High School from 2006 to 2010 and returned to the district, this time at Norman High, around 2014. In his current role, Jackson teaches the elective course, Introduction to Ethnic Studies, to students at both high schools.The new course is a broad interdisciplinary course designed to give high school students an introduction that uses a comparative and historical perspective to examine the languages, values, voices and experiences of diverse groups within the United States.Jackson, who grew up in Norman, spent a lot of time around schools because his mom was a front office secretary. From an early age, Jackson also thought that working at a school sounded interesting. He planned to teach literature at first, but during college at Haskell Indian Nations University, he realized his interest in history. Now, he’s enjoying the opportunity to teach the new course for NPS.“It sounds kind of weird, but 20 years ago, teaching a class like this was the kind of thing I actually did want to do,” Jackson said. -
Johnnie Keel, Gifted Resource Teacher at Truman Elementary School
After 17 years working in the oil and gas business, Johnnie Keel was ready for a change. While Keel enjoyed her job, she wanted a role in which she was giving back. Her oldest daughter had recently started pursuing a teaching career, and the education field stood out to Keel as well.Keel made a “midlife crisis change” and attended the University of Oklahoma through the American Indian Teacher Corps grant, without which she might never have been able to afford the career change. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Keel also completed a master’s degree.As a teacher, Keel has discovered a true passion, one she shares with both of her daughters. The three of them are educators at different levels and enjoy sharing about their experiences and the rewards.Keel started working at Truman Elementary School in 2002, where she now serves as a gifted resource teacher and sixth grade math teacher. In her role, Keel works with 100 students each week and collaborates with other staff members to provide enrichment opportunities. These have included activities like agriculture STEM days, guest speakers about topics like forensics, a visit from the Southwest Dairy Mobile Classroom and more. Keel also oversees a group called GLAMS, which stands for Girls Learning Agriculture, Math and Science.“I just love my kids, and I really enjoy working with them,” Keel shared. “What’s so cool about Truman is that you have a lot of the same families coming through, so you get close to them. Working with the students for three years, I really get to see them grow.”A lifelong learner, Keel enjoys attending workshops and recently began volunteering at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, partly so she can continue to educate both children and adults even after she retires. Keel also wants to learn more about her Seminole and Creek background and about other tribes too.For anyone considering a career change to teaching, Keel encourages them to first answer a couple of key questions.“The first thing I would ask is, ‘Do you go to work every day and love it? How do you feel when you go home?’ Because I can really say I do,” Keel said. “I get choked up because it does mean so much to me. I have a passion for it, and there’s just so many rewards.” -
Amanda Kordeliski, Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology
Amanda Kordeliski has always loved the library, history and research. She found a way to combine those loves into a career, first as a teacher librarian for Norman Public Schools and now as the district’s Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology.When her kids were young, Kordeliski volunteered at their school frequently, often ending up in the library at Eisenhower Elementary. There, Kordeliski loved connecting kids with books and seeing all of the things that the teacher librarian did. During that time, Kordeliski started contemplating what she wanted to do once her kids were older, and the librarian encouraged her to look into the field.“Blending books and research and kids all together was my dream job,” Kordeliski shared.Kordeliski attended library school at the University of Oklahoma, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in history and classics, and started her career in a different district. In the 2010-11 school year, Kordeliski started working as the librarian at Irving Middle School. She moved to Norman Norman North High School after six years and then into her current role in summer 2020.Kordeliski’s favorite part of her new role is seeing the impact that library programs have at all the schools in the district. Last summer, her department partnered with the Indian Education program to make sure all of the libraries have the same base collection of books with Indigenous representation. Kordeliski explained that they also worked on how to accurately evaluate Indigenous literature because sometimes, books will have a Native American character but the depiction may not be accurate.“I’ve always been a voracious reader, but I never saw that part of myself reflected in a book that wasn’t historical fiction or that didn’t end well for the Indigenous characters,” said Kordeliski, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “Knowing that our kids can go into any of our libraries and find that part of themselves represented well is something that I’m really passionate about because that wasn't there for me when I was in school.” -
Denessa LittleAxe, Indian Education Tutor and Teacher at Norman North High School
Growing up, Denessa LittleAxe was an active participant in her hometown’s Indian Education program. Now, she has the opportunity to impact the next generation of students as an Indian Education tutor and teacher for Norman Public Schools.LittleAxe earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Native American studies from the University of Oklahoma. She started working part-time for NPS in 2019 while she was in graduate school, with an initial goal of becoming a lawyer. But LittleAxe discovered a new career path after starting as a tutor.This is the first semester LittleAxe has also taught classes, and she is planning to work toward getting certified and becoming a full-time teacher. The class LittleAxe is teaching is called 39 Tribes, focused on the history and culture of all the tribes in Oklahoma.“I have Native students in my classes, but I also have students who have not had a lot of exposure to Native culture before,” LittleAxe explained. “The class goes hand-in-hand with U.S. history and Oklahoma history, and I have a lot of students who say they use what they learned in this class in their history classes, which is awesome.”LittleAxe, who is Prairie Band Potawatomi, Absentee Shawnee and Pawnee, grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. There she went through the Indian Ed program starting in Pre-K and was actually the third generation in her family to participate. Now, her child is a Pre-K student and in his first year as part of the NPS Indian Ed program, and she is looking forward to putting him through the program too. LittleAxe said she is very involved in the culture, including as a Native seamstress who specializes in a type of art called applique.For LittleAxe, the best part of her job is building relationships and learning about each student. As a tutor, she helps students with academic areas like college prep, but another aspect is being a support system and champion for them.“My big emphasis is, especially in this room in Norman North, that this is like a safe space for Native students,” LittleAxe shared. “We have a lot of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and then you have students that are going through a lot. Indian Ed is just a safe space for them, and that’s what really motivates me is I have kids who depend on me.” -
Jessica Ma'ilo, Fourth Grade Teacher at Kennedy Elementary School
Teaching is in Jessica Ma’ilo’s blood. Although she earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Oklahoma, Ma’ilo followed in the footsteps of her grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins and immediately entered education.Ma’ilo first started working for Norman Public Schools in 2008, first for the Indian Education program then as a teaching assistant at Truman Primary and Monroe as she was getting certified. Then she spent some time in Oklahoma City before returning to teach in her hometown last year.“I came back to Kennedy, which is where I went to school,” shared Ma’ilo, who is a fourth grade teacher at the elementary school. “So it’s literally like coming home.”Ma’ilo is Lenape (Delaware Nation) and Kiowa. During her master’s program at OU, her research was focused on multicultural education and children’s literature. She said that’s another reason why she enjoys being back in Norman and at Kennedy specifically is because of the multicultural student body, and Ma’ilo likes getting the chance to educate students who otherwise might not be exposed to other cultures.“With the littles still in elementary school, they’re learning brand new things every day,” Ma’ilo said. “Getting to see those light bulbs click on and watch them discover things on their own is always a good day. I don’t have a day where I wake up and don’t want to go to work because there’s always something new with the kids.” -
Carrie Perez, Counselor at Longfellow Middle School
Growing up, Carrie Perez noticed she didn’t have any teachers who looked like her. While she was grateful for the way her teachers were interested in learning about her culture, Perez decided she wanted to become a teacher so future Native American students could see themselves in that position too.Perez, who is a member of the Kiowa, Otoe-Missouria and Cherokee tribes, was born and raised in Norman. After graduating from Norman High School, she attended the University of Oklahoma before planting even deeper roots in her hometown. Perez started working as a sixth grade teacher at Longfellow Middle School in 2009, and she is now a counselor at the school.A desire to help and impact students of all backgrounds led her to the counseling role. Perez said she enjoys working with students and their families and finding solutions to help them in any way she can. She also wants to be a person to whom students feel comfortable talking, regardless of their background.“I like coming to school because I get to see kids every day, and every day is a different day,” Perez shared. “Students from all walks of life can come in here and can feel comfortable talking to me. That's really what I want to give them is someone that they can feel comfortable talking to, even if I don't look like them.”Perez added that she is appreciative of the educators and administrative staff in Norman Public Schools who embrace Native culture and welcome it into their schools.“They see that as a learning opportunity for all of their students to get to learn from their peers, what their culture is and what their traditions are, and I like that,” Perez said.
Indigenous Peoples' Day
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Norman Public Schools is proud to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day. Did you know that 65 tribes are represented in Norman Public Schools? Native American heritage is a big part of who we are and we are proud to celebrate the cultures and history of Indigenous communities.
Help us commemorate the day with this excerpt from the First Americans Museum award-winning poem, “We are the First Americans,” written and performed by NPS student Rainee Stumblingbear Riddle.
Hispanic Heritage Month
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Sept. 15 - Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month! NPS is committed to celebrating the contributions, heritage and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans all year long! A few ways to show appreciation for Hispanic and Latino Americans include reading books by authors of Hispanic or Latino origin, watching movies about Hispanic and Latino culture and going to local events that celebrate the contributions Hispanic and Latino people have made to U.S. society.
Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlights
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Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez was born in Arizona to a Mexican American family and grew up around the people he later helped through his activism. The defining moment in Chavez’s life came when his family moved to California during the Great Depression to become farm workers, cementing his fight for farmers' rights. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, Chavez worked as a lumber handler in San Jose, where he helped set up a chapter of the Community Service Organization, a pivotal civil rights organization for Latinos in California. -
Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoa made her mark by becoming the first Hispanic American woman to go to space with a nine-day mission in 1993. Through her impressive research work, NASA selected Ochoa in 1991 and she became an astronaut in July of that year. Two years later, Ochoa made history on board the Space Shuttle Discovery on a mission to study the Earth’s ozone layer. She later completed three more missions.
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Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, class and race in Mexican society. Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy. In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist. She is known for painting about her experience of chronic pain.
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Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez, also known by her nickname, J.Lo, is an American singer, actress, producer and dancer. In 1991, Lopez began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on "In Living Color," where she remained a regular until she decided to pursue an acting career in 1993. For her first leading role in the 1997 Selena biopic of the same name, Lopez became the first Latin actress to earn over $1 million for a film and established herself as the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood. Lopez ventured into the music industry with her debut studio album "On the 6" (1999), which helped propel the Latin pop movement in American music. Jennifer Lopez is considered a pop culture icon, and is often described as a triple threat entertainer. She is regarded as the most influential Latin entertainer in North America.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award-winning composer, lyricist and actor. He is the creator and original star of Broadway’s Tony Winning musicals, "Hamilton" and In the "Heights." "Hamilton" - with book, music and lyrics by Miranda, in addition to him originating the title role - was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and earned a record-breaking 16 Tony Nominations, winning 11 Tony Awards. This included two personally for Miranda for Book and Score of a Musical. The Original Broadway Cast Recording of "Hamilton" won the 2016 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. Both Miranda and "Hamilton" won the 2016 Drama League Awards for Distinguished Performance and Outstanding Production of a Musical, respectively.
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Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno has been a household name for decades, ever since she captivated audiences with her fierce portrayal of Anita in 1961’s "West Side Story." Moreno would go on to cement her name in history by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role, becoming the first-ever Hispanic American woman to win an Academy Award. Born Rosa Alverio on December 11, 1931, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, the actress later changed her last name to match her stepfather’s after she immigrated to New York City with her mom in 1936. Moreno made her Broadway debut in "Skydrift" at age 13, with her career taking off after that. The pioneering actress went on to star in dozens of film, TV and stage shows through her decades-long career. She became only the third person ever to achieve the coveted EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award by 1977. In 2019, she added a P to the achievement with a Peabody Award, one of only three performers to accomplish this feat.
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Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez is one of the most iconic Hispanic figures of our generation. Selena was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, businesswoman, model, actress and fashion designer. Referred to as the "Queen of Tejano Music,” her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. Billboard magazine named her the greatest female Latin artist of all time. From her very early days singing with the Quintanilla family, young Selena was destined to become a superstar. But more than that, she wanted to connect people with music, and took immense pride in her Mexican-American roots. Her musical journey was filled with many challenges, from teaching herself Spanish, to designing her own clothes, to touring across the country in the family bus (Big Bertha) in order to break into the male-dominated world of Tejano music. Selena did everything with gusto, and her exuberant music, triumphant spirit and devotion to her fans continues to touch the lives of many.
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Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor was born in Bronx, New York, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the university’s highest academic honor. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1979–1984. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998–2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role August 8, 2009.