Monday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Still called Columbus Day in most of the United States, it is a day celebrated on the second Monday of October, October 14 this year, to honor the cultures and histories of the Native American people. The day is centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened their communities.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day got its start at a U.N. international conference on discrimination in 1977. South Dakota, in 1989, was the first state to recognize the day. Two California cities, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz followed suit. Although the day is still considered Columbus Day in most places, many people have begun calling it Indigenous Peoples’ Day to celebrate the rich culture and the lives of the Native American people.
For Native Americans, Columbus Day was an often-painful reminder of a violent past, constituting 500 years of colonial torture and oppression by European explorers like Columbus and those who settled in America. Indigenous Peoples’ Day draws attention to the agony, trauma, and broken promises that were erased by the celebration of Columbus Day. Before his arrival, the indigenous folk were successful self-sufficient communities that sustained life for millennia.
Year after year, the movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day is spreading to more and more states, towns, and cities across the United States. Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates, recognizes, and honors the beautiful traditions and cultures of the Indigenous People, not just in America, but globally. Their way of life and culture carries wisdom and valuable insights into how we can live life more sustainably.
Today, 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and not Columbus Day. Over 130 cities including Arlington, Amherst, Cambridge, Brookline, Marblehead, Great Barrington, Northampton, Provincetown, Somerville, and Salem also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Numerous organizations are seeking to address the lack of access indigenous people have to higher education. They have also created scholarships to help address this challenge.
HOW TO CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY
- Read indigenous literature
Some must-read books include “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de las Casas, “1491: New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus” by Charles C. Mann, “An Indigenous People's History Of The United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown.
- Attend an event
Attend an event hosted by a group of Native Americans or a Native American organization. Learn more about how you can be of assistance with any issues that the group is facing.
- Host a movie screening
Watch a movie with your friends and have a discussion afterward. There are a plethora of films to choose from like “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015), “Gather” (2020), and “Indian Horse” (2017).
5 FACTS ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY
- Female warriors
Native American women fought alongside men in battles, the most popular among them being the Buffalo Calf Road Woman of the Northern Cheyenne tribe.
- Popcorn
The Indigenous Americans were the first to domesticate the strains of maize that produced popcorn thousands of years ago.
- Maria Tallchief
The first Native American (and American) to dance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and with the Paris Opera Ballet was Maria Tallchief. Hockey
4. Hockey
The Native American tribes of Foxes, Saux, and Assiniboine played a game called shinny, which is where hockey came from.
5. The sequoia tree
The sequoia tree is named after the revered Cherokee leader Sequoyah, who created an alphabet for his people.
WHY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY IS IMPORTANT
- It celebrates the original inhabitants
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of North America.
- It recognizes the indigenous cultures
Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors the beautiful indigenous traditions, cultures, and lives all around the world.
- It stands in solidarity with the indigenous people
We take a stand for and support the indigenous people on this day. We should also offer our support to those who invest and uplift the indigenous communities.
I have observed there are folks who go out of their way to say Columbus Day, rather than Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Undoubtedly, they consider themselves making a point. In this hyper-partisan era, any concession to individuals of non-European heritage rubs some folks the wrong way. In that light, it’s important to remember that what Columbus really discovered when he arrived in the Americas was that…he was lost. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Why?
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For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the link below:
https://nationaltoday.com/indigenous-peoples-day/
http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2024/10/indigenous-peoples-day-why.html
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