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November is Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, or as it's commonly referred to, Native American Heritage Month During this month, we want to take the time to celebrate and honor the rich culture, tradition, and histories of Indigenous People from around the world — not only in Northern America but also from Hawaii, Polynesia, South America, and more.

At Salesforce, we believe that a rich representation of our minority groups is important in creating a sense of community and inclusion. Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month is also an opportunity to educate allies about the many nations, and to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native People have faced both historically and in the present.

 

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month at Salesforce

Salesforce's Employee Resource Groups, or Ohana Groups, are central to fostering a culture of inclusivity — not only among like-minded groups but also with allies. On November 15, we held our first-ever Indigenous Peoples Heritage Event which was an evening of storytelling, music, and dance.

 

 

“This was a great first Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month celebration, and it will only continue to get better,” said Jessica Heavy Runner, Senior eDiscovery Engineer at Salesforce and speaker at the event. “We hope to create more events in the future that will bring our community and allies together.”

The employee-organized event also served as a platform to highlight critical issues affecting the community today, including how Residential Schools are run in Canada and ongoing violence and disappearance of Indigenous women. Indigenous people use song and dance as a restorative form of healing. Since the topics featured heavy elements, they concluded the evening with a healing circle and special dance to round out the event.

 

 

Remembering remarkable Indigenous People

During this month, we also want to remember luminaries and remarkable people from the Indigenous community that have left their mark on the world:

Of the roughly 12,000 people elected to the U.S. Congress since 1789, only 300 have been of Native American descent — with the first women not elected until 2018. Democrat Sharice Davids, a member of Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation tribe, will be U.S. Congressional Representative of Kansas. Democrat Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, will be U.S. Congressional Representative of New Mexico. 

 

 
In Deb Haaland's acceptance speech she stated: 

"Growing up in my mother's Pueblo household and growing up as a 35th generation New Mexican, I never imagined being represented by someone who looked like me."
 

We acknowledge that we are stronger when we unite and work together. Salesforce strives to use our platform to elevate conversations around underrepresented communities and create positive social change.


Learn more about our Ohana Groups and join us on our path forward — salesforce.com/equality.