92_HR0196

 
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 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members of this body are pleased and honored
 3    to recognize a group  of  individuals  who  have  contributed
 4    greatly  to the heritage and education of the children of our
 5    nation; and

 6        WHEREAS, The State of Illinois  shall  set  apart  a  day
 7    known  as  "American  Indian  Day" in recognition of the many
 8    contributions of the American Indians  to  the  economic  and
 9    cultural  heritage  of all the citizens of the United States;
10    and

11        WHEREAS, American Indian Day is also held  to  honor  all
12    American  Indians  and  Native  Americans  who  have  fought,
13    served,  and  worked  to  make the United States the greatest
14    country in the world; and

15        WHEREAS, The years  before  the  arrival  of  Christopher
16    Columbus  saw  the  rise  of an advanced agriculturally based
17    Indian  civilization  with  true  urban  centers,  monumental
18    public works, and ruling classes; and

19        WHEREAS, During  the  period  of  European  colonization,
20    American  Indian  societies  and  tribes  within  the present
21    continental   United   States   were    integrated    through
22    interconnecting  political,  economic,  social, and religious
23    obligation and support systems provided by extended  families
24    or kinship groups; and

25        WHEREAS,  Through European colonization, most tribes were
26    forced to sell their  lands,  moved  to  new  territory,  and
27    subjected  to  forced  acculturation  programs by the federal
28    government; many  other  tribes  remain  on  reservations  or
29    tribal  lands  within  their old homelands, where they retain
30    many of  their  cultural  patterns  and  traditional  values;
31    therefore, be it
 
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 1        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 2    NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
 3    we honor American Indians for their contributions to American
 4    heritage, and for their optimism  and  pride  in  this  great
 5    nation,  we  do  hereby  declare  September 1, 2001, and each
 6    September 1 thereafter, as American Indian Day in  the  State
 7    of Illinois; and be it further

 8        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
 9    displayed at the Chicago Cultural Center and a suitable  copy
10    be delivered to Cleatus Lee Murdaugh of the Southern Cherokee
11    Tribe.