01
National American Indian Heritage Month. The term American Indian incorporates hundreds of different tribes and approximately 250 languages. Starting in 1976 as Native American Awareness Week, the period was expanded by Congress and approved by President Bush in August 1990 by designating the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. In his proclamation for 1996, President Clinton noted, Throughout our history, American Indian and Alaska Native peoples have been an integral part of the American character. Against all odds, America's first peoples have endured, and they remain a vital cultural, political, social, and moral presence. For more information, contact the Bureau of Indian of Indian Affairs, 202-219-4150

01
All Saints Day: Christian. This Christian holiday celebrates the memory the memory of all the early martyrs and saints. It is a Roman Catholic holy day of obligation.

01
Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos): Mexico. Beginning on the evening of October 31 and celebrated through November 2 by Mexican and Mexican Americans, this holiday has its roots in two traditions: the Christian observance of All Saints and all Souls Day, and two Aztec festivals on which the souls of the dead were welcomed back to visit those who remembered them. Central to the observance is the creation of an ofrenda, or altar, in the home, with flowers, food and favorite possessions to honor the memory of deceased loved ones and to welcome their visiting souls. The holiday is celebrated with family and community gatherings, music, and feasting, and the festivity of its observance acknowledges death as an integral part of life.

02
All Souls Day (Day of the Dead): Christian. This is a Christian holiday to remember those who have died.

03
Culture Day (Bunka No Hi): Japan. This public holiday was established in 1948 to promote the appreciation of peace and culture. The emperor awards Cultural Orders of Merit to those who have made major contributions to Japanese culture.

03
Independence from Columbia: Panama. After the Spanish conquest of Columbia in the fourteenth century, Spain established colonies in Panama, which became part of Colombia. In 1903, Panamanians, supported by the United States which wanted to build a canal across the country, revolted and declared Panama independent of Columbia.

04
Victory in World War I: Italy. This marks the end of the war in Italy in 1918.

06
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932): Portuguese American. Composer and band conductor. Sousa wrote a number of marches that by virtue of their military vigor, tunefulness, and instrumentation brought him the title March King. Perhaps the most famous of the marches he composed was Stars and Stripes Forever. He also invented the Sousaphone, a tuba-like instrument named for him.

07
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) Japanese American. Sculptor and designer. Noguchi was a distinguished sculptor and respected designer whose creations ranged from stage costumes and sets for the modern dance works of Martha *Graham to interiors, gardens, lamps, and furniture. *

07
Marie Sklodowska-Curie (1867-1934): Polish French. Scientist. A Polish-born researcher who became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne, Marie Skoldowska-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for phusics (shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel) in 1904 for her elements radium and polonium, the latter named for her native country.

07
Day of Accord and Reconciliation: Russia and the Ukraine. This commemorates the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia that began in October 1917.