This Day in History: 2017-12-14
December 14, 1915 – “Red Fox James Pushes for Day Honoring Indigenous Americans”
Red Fox James, also known as Red Fox Skiuhushu, presented at the White House endorsements from 24 state governments for a day to honor indigenous Americans. He rode over 4,000 miles on horseback from state to state seeking these endorsements.He was thought to be from the Blackfoot Tribe of Montana. Although Red Fox James was not successful in his bid to lobby the government to create an indigenous people’s day, it laid the groundwork for President Ronald Reagan to create American Indian Day in 1983.
1963 - “First African-American Woman to Hold a Cabinet Position and Serve as a U.S. Ambassador” Advocate of women’s rights, Patricia Roberts Harris was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to co-chair the National Women’s Committee for Civil Rights. In 1965, one year after the civil rights act, Patricia R. Harris made history under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first black female U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. She broke another barrier two years later as the first Dean of Law at her alma mater, Howard University; she became the first black woman to head a law school in the U.S.