It’s Black Friday as I write this, and I’m still trying to decide whether to shop in person or online or not at all. Of course, all week has been Black Friday — the competing retailers start marketing their goods earlier every year.
The day after Thanksgiving is also recognized as Native American Heritage Day (the entire month of November is dedicated to Native American Heritage). In 2009, former President Barack Obama signed a resolution to recognize Native Americans on the same day as Black Friday.
However, Brian Perry of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma felt slighted. Perry said,“There are 28 other days to select from. … Why must we take a backseat to Thanksgiving?” Out of 567 federally recognized tribes, only 184 tribes supported Obama’s resolution.
There is little doubt that Black Friday overshadows Native American Heritage Day but in this issue (even though it’s December), we are recognizing the people who first inhabited the United States. Coben Scott wrote an interesting article in his Yesteryear history column on Native Americans who passed through the Falcon greater area and elsewhere in the county in years past.
Erin Malcolm interviewed Manuel Pulido, a member of the Sacred Tree Council, which is an organization of indigenous people bringing recognition to the Native American culture by introducing changes to various names of landmarks. Currently, the council is working on officially changing the name of Pikes Peak to Tavá in honor of the sacred peak and the Ute people.
And down to business in this issue, we received a call from a long-time local Falcon resident who has encountered trouble with mail delivery in the last few weeks. In February, March and May 2023, we published three articles on problems with mail delivery in the area. The problem, according to the postal office, was a shortage of mail carriers. By May, the situation in 2023 had been resolved. If any of our readers have had recent mail delivery issues, please send an email to marylounfh@gmail.com. She has been in contact with the Denver postal communications team and is awaiting a response.
Also, our newspapers have been flying off the stands so what about giving that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative a year’s subscription to The New Falcon Herald. It’s only $29 for the year. With that subscription, you are also on our email list for updates and information throughout the month.
For many, it’s a joyful time of year. For others, it’s sometimes a challenge, so if you know of someone having a hard time this year, reach out to them if you can. Be kind to strangers, too.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year (and be safe).
January is our annual health care issue so I’ll see you then!
Michelle
Correction: In one of the photos for the Life Network article (the new pregnancy center in Falcon), we incorrectly identified one of the persons in a photo. We had listed Rich Bennett, the Life Network chief executive officer, as the person saying a prayer before the ribbon cutting ceremony took place. The person leading the prayer was actually Bryan Myers, the senior pastor at Academy Christian Church. Please accept our apology, especially to Mr. Myers.
