November is Native American Heritage Month. Native American Heritage Month began as a weeklong celebration in 1986 and changed to a monthlong celebration in 1990. The month of November was chosen because November signifies the end of the traditional harvest season followed by a period of thanksgiving and celebration. President Donald Trump’s Proclamation for the celebration of Native American Heritage Month in 2018 may be found here.
The presence of the Carlisle Indian School attracted several Native American students to Dickinson Law. The first Native American student is believed to have been Samuel Townsend, of the Pawnee Tribe, who attended the Law School in 1893. Hastings M. Robertson was another early Native American student.
Several early Native American Dickinson Law students also played football for the Carlisle Indian School. These students included: Ed Rogers (Chippewa), James Marston Phillips (Cherokee), Gustavus Welch (Chippewa), Albert Andrew Exendine (Delaware), Victor Murat Kelly (Choctaw) and William Jennings Gardner (Chippewa).[1]
William Jennings Gardner also went on to become one of Eliot Ness’ famous Untouchables, the group of agents who took on Al Capone during the Prohibition.
[1] More information about these individuals may be found in Doctors, Lawyers, Indian Chiefs by Tom Benjey.