Op-Ed: Why Indigenous Peoples’ Day Should Recognized as a Federal Holiday
Indigenous Peoples' Day 2019 on Randall's Island in New York City
I found out the truth about Christopher Columbus when I was about 9 years old.
I spent a weekend away at my dad’s where I heard him debating with my aunts and uncles in the living room about what el Cristóbal Colón actually contributed. I didn’t think they were talking about the Christopher Columbus I was assigned to write an essay about because they used the Spanish version of his name but also because of everything they said he DID. There was talk of killings, diseases, violence, and, unfortunately, much more. I would later learn about all the things he did for The Vox to so accurately describe him as a
“homicidal tyrant who initiated the two greatest crimes in the history of the Western Hemisphere, the Atlantic slave trade, and the American Indian genocide.”
I remember going back to school feeling just so betrayed but also way too ready to ask my teacher why in the world we were still celebrating him and her response was so sad I couldn’t get angry. She basically said her hands were tied.
I’ve been second-guessing materials out of educational institutions ever since because textbooks like the one I was given have a long-time history of glossing “over the American government’s oppression of racial minorities.” I understand that Columbus was rebranded to appease and bring together the Italian American communities way back when but now that we know better, we must do better. This isn’t about anti-Italians, this is about anti-lies. If you need a reminder of the impact, watch the video below:
No one should remember the day they stopped believing in the education system. It was a disservice to me to not learn about the real history and contributions of the native peoples in this country. It’s been an even bigger disservice to native peoples in this country because they are still living it. We cannot continue to celebrate and glorify a man who is responsible for the genocide and violence on far too many people, cultures, and land.
“Celebrating it continues the cross-generational historic trauma being perpetrated against the indigenous community causing continual genocide.”
Indigenous Peoples’ Day should be recognized as a federal holiday and New York City should be leading the pack.
Over the last few years, all 51 New York City Council Members have been invited to the Indigenous Peoples’ Day event, according to the IPDNYC website, but there hasn’t been any action. In 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo marched along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in the 75th annual Columbus Day parade, as reported in The New York Times, but they didn’t make it to any events honoring Native Americans.
Fourteen states, Washington D.C., and over 130 cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Phoenix now observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, according to USA Today, alongside or instead of Columbus Day. However, there is something you can do to move the needle forward. Let Eric Adams know how you feel. This is an opportunity to do the right thing but first, we have to start with the truth.
What you can do today:
Post the graphics below on social media to help spread the word using #RecognizeIndigenousPeoplesDayNYC
Call your local officials and have your voice heard
According to The New York Times, this month, lawmakers from the House and Senate reintroduced a bill that would establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October, replacing Columbus Day. The bill, according to the lawmakers, has 56 co-sponsors in the House and several co-sponsors in the Senate. Tribes including the Cherokee Nation and the Navajo Nation have expressed their support.” Read the rest here.
And because indigenous peoples are resilient and magical folk, an unofficial celebration has been popping off in Randall’s Island for the last 9 years now. In short, it’s 24 hrs of indigenous culture, music, song, dance, food, ceremony, and prayer on Randall’s Island. I had the pleasure of being there in 2019. I got to spend time with women I’ve marched in protests with, listened to indigenous artists and camped out there only to wake up to the water ceremony where people brought water from all over the world. We went again in 2022 and here’s the coverage from that time. At Reclama, we’ve been supporting Indigenous Peoples Day since 2016 and will continue to do so. Recognizing this day is one of many steps in the right direction.
“It’s an important time in our country’s history, in our world’s history... It’s time for us to make a move. It’s time for us to stand up for the environment. It’s time for us to stand up for our people.”
