By Indiana Department Of Natural Resources

Donate your harvested deer to feed hungry Hoosiers. One donated deer can provide 200 meals for an Indiana family.

Follow these simple steps:

1. Enjoy a deer hunting experience.
   2. Harvest a deer.
   3. Drop off the field-dressed deer at a local participating processor.
   4. Processing fees are paid for by Hunt for Hunger (at no cost to you).
   5. The processor creates healthy venison burgers to distribute to food banks.

About Hunt for Hunger

In 2008, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources launched the Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund to provide an easy way for hunters across Indiana to help hungry Hoosiers in need. Since its launch, the program has grown across the state to collect thousands of deer donations, providing hundreds of thousands of meals for Hoosiers.

We’re now calling the program Indiana Hunt for Hunger, providing a clearer name to help all understand this program’s vital mission.

When hunters harvest a deer, they can donate the deer at more than 50 participating processing sites across the state. We’ll take it from there, processing the meat into healthy venison burgers and donating it to area food banks.

We’re proud to partner with Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, the Dubois County Sportsman’s Club, and Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry for Indiana Hunt for Hunger.

List of participating processors may be found at:  https://www.in.gov/dnr/law-enforcement/sportsmens-benevolence-fund/

Native American Heritage Month is celebrated in November to honor the culture, traditions, and achievements of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island communities. 

What started at the turn of the century as an effort to gain a day of recognition for the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S., has resulted in a whole month being designated for that purpose. 

One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the "First Americans" and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the Amertican Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kansas, formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.

The year before this proclamation was issued, Red Fox James, a Blackfoot Indian, rode horseback from state to state seeking approval for a day to honor Indians. On December 14, 1915, he presented the endorsements of 24 state governments at the White House. There is no record, however, of such a national day being proclaimed.

The first Amertican Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of New York. Several states celebrate the fourth Friday in September. In Illinois, for example, legislators enacted such a day in 1919. Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day we observe without any recognition as a national holiday. 

In 1990 President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 "National American Indian Heritage Month." Similar proclamations, under variants on the name (including "Native American Heritage Month" and "National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month") have been issued each year since 1994.

Information obtained from The Library of Congress

Interesting Facts:

The number of federally recognized Indian tribes in 2023 were 574

The 3 largest American Indian tribal groupings are Navajo, Cherokee and Mexican American Indian

3 largest Alaska Native tribal groupings are Yup'ik, Inupiat and Alaskan Athabascan

The Trail of Tears was part of a series of forced displacements of approximately 60,000 Native Americans between 1830 and 1850. Nearly 4,000 people died of disease, exposure and malnutrition during that time. To recognize, remember, and pay tribute to their lives, you can walk parts of the Trail of Tears in Springfield, Missouri.

Chipmunk, pecan, skunk and other common words come from an Algonquian language.

The first newspaper in a Native American language was published in 1828.

In 2016, it was estimated that as much as 60 percent of what we eat today was originally domesticated by Native Americans. For instance, corn was cultivated and farmed first by indigenous tribes in Mexico. By the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had been growing corn for thousands of years.

Washington County, Indiana (October 29, 2024) – This week, we celebrate Red Ribbon Week and raise awareness for drug prevention during the final days of Substance Abuse Prevention Month.

Substance abuse has a devastating impact on our communities, affecting everyone from adults to children and youth. Drug abuse not only damages the health of individuals but also causes disruption in families, trauma for children, and a decline in our community’s well-being. Prevention efforts like Red Ribbon Week and Substance Abuse Prevention Month are key to halting the drug epidemic and fostering better health for our families and fellow citizens.

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest and longest-running drug-use prevention campaign aimed at keeping kids in our country drug-free. Started by the National Family Partnership in 1985, this initiative raises awareness by mobilizing communities and schools to educate youth and promote drug prevention activities. During Red Ribbon Week, we highlight the importance of living a drug-free life and reinforce drug-free messages for children and students.

Alongside Red Ribbon Week, National Substance Abuse Prevention Month provides an opportunity for communities to partner in the prevention of drug use. By raising awareness for these causes, we advocate for the prevention of substance abuse and its associated harms to individual well-being and community health.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration encourages citizens to “Tell the prevention story” by sharing how prevention is improving lives, demonstrating that prevention works, and showcasing its positive effects nationwide.

“Preventing drug abuse in people of all ages is critical to stopping use before it becomes a problem,” said Washington County Prosecutor Tara Coats Hunt. “If we can prevent drug use and abuse early on, we can avoid many of the negative consequences for individuals and improve outcomes for our families and communities.”

To celebrate Red Ribbon Week and Substance Abuse Prevention Month this October, consider talking to a friend, family member, or child about the dangers of drug use and encourage activities that lead to a safer community and better health for all.