Falling on the second Monday of October, Indigenous Peoples Day is a chance to collectively celebrate the history, cultures, and contributions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians to the United States. While not a federally recognized holiday, the need for such a day of learning and reflection could not be greater.
Indigenous Peoples Day shares a date with better known day of observance, Columbus Day. Cristoforo Colombo, otherwise known as Christopher Columbus, is celebrated by our nation, despite his never having stepped foot on what would become United States’ soil. Along with the many atrocities he carried out against Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Central and South America, he could also be considered the grandfather of revisionist history in the “New World.” It was Columbus who claimed in letters back to Spain that the Taino people viewed the Europeans as gods, despite having only been in contact with the locals for a matter of days and not speaking their language. Experts today tend to agree this was a gross misinterpretation of the Taino’s actions and words meant to validate not only Columbus’ expedition but further colonization efforts that would follow him.
The behavior of superiority and misguided history continues through policies and practices. Instead of celebrating the Indigenous peoples of this land, those in power seek to erase the symbols of past and current existence and ignore contributions of Native Americans. When we open ourselves to a genuine exploration of our past, we may be uncomfortable with many truths, but we also gift ourselves the opportunity to connect with peoples who stewarded and loved this land well before explorers and colonizers arrived. Practices to erase and ignore Indigenous peoples is a disservice to us all.
Indigenous people named places based on what they saw and their relationships with the land and water. But we seek to rename them. For example, the recent attempt to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. Why? Lake Ontario is an anglicized version, but it still comes from of a Wendat (Huron-Wendat people) word meaning “the lake is beautiful” or “the lake is big.” What is our purpose in changing the name and what are we losing when we do not celebrate and acknowledge origins?
Mount Rushmore is another example, visited by approximately two million people a year. Yet, many are unaware that it is a defacement of Tuŋkášila Šákpe, a sacred site for the Lakota people that translates to The Six Grandfathers, which represent the six sacred directions. It was a choice that we made to value the acknowledgement of American Presidents over Indigenous people’s values, culture, sacred site, and in this case, right to the land. If we knew more, if we acknowledged more, would we make different choices?
Names, landmarks, history taught in classrooms, and yes, federally recognized holidays are not just a recognition of our past, they are the foundation for how we consider moving forward. We have a choice to decide what and who we celebrate and honor. We have a choice about what we allot time to reflect on and learn more about. Are we better as individuals and as a country for celebrating Christopher Columbus? Or would we be better if we acknowledged, celebrated, and learned from the Indigenous peoples of this land? It is a choice.
If you choose to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and have a desire to learn more about the history, culture, and current contributions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, we encourage you to take action. Supporting and exploring the National Museum of the American Indian is a great place to start. Supporting and learning more about tribal colleges and universities, who are leaders in educating for the future while uplifting rather than erasing the languages and cultures indigenous to this land, is another opportunity. You may choose to resist renaming landmarks. And you may choose to advocate for a federally recognized holiday honoring and celebrating Indigenous peoples.
