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November is Native American Cultural Heritage Month

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Nov 1, 2011 at 4:14 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 1, 2011 at 5:31 PM MDT

Tuesday kicks off Native American Cultural Heritage month and to celebrate the Great Falls Public Library will be presenting Native American art, storytelling and dancing throughout the month.

Seven years ago, Emily Yellow Bird, a woman of Pennsylvanian German descent, met Black Pinto Horse Monte Yellow Bird, who is from the Arikara Hidatsa tribe in North Dakota.

They were both teachers and eventually fell in love.

Together the Yellow Birds travel the nation, educating people on the importance of individual cultures and the expression of those cultures through art, which brought them here to Great Falls.

"For non-natives to understand who they are as a people and to celebrate that -- for me being German, its important for me to celebrate my heritage and it becomes an exchange of cultures and an understanding of who we all are," said Emily Yellowbird.

This month the Great Falls Public Library presents Native American Cultural Heritage month. Each week features an aspect of Native American history through storytelling, dancing and art.

"November has been designated as Native American Cultural Heritage month and the public library has never done anything to acknowledge that in any way, and this year we made change we are acknowledging it in what we consider a big way," said library spokeswoman Jude Smith.

Smith says its important for people of all cultural backgrounds to learn about the heritage of Native Americans so we can all better understand each other and do away with negative stereotypes.

"It’s a great celebration, and of course, the purpose is to share. The more we know about each other the more we can be a community and really and have a deeper understanding and underneath all of our differences we find that we're really all the same," Smith said.

"You know, we're a culture that is so based on outward appearance, and you know, of course we're a judgmental people, and it’s nice to know that the heart is the true beauty of a person," Yellow Bird said.

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