The Importance of Indigenous People’s Day
September 28, 2017
With certain holidays, we honor a person or commemorate a special day. As of this year, California recognizes a new holiday, Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Such a tradition has been introduced in order to bring awareness regarding our nation’s history.
Columbus Day – Oct. 9 – is a holiday with some insignificance, only known for another day off or a day to recall Christopher Columbus’ “sailing the ocean blue in 1492 with the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria.” Little did our history books teach us that Columbus and his men began a genocide of indigenous people in the Bahamas as he traded spices. Maybe there should be a reconsideration as to who we celebrate on this day and why?
Columbus Day’s introduction came when the Knights of Columbus and then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the holiday to “honor” Christopher Columbus.
Years later, in January 2013, there was a bill in favor of Native American Day in California, but it did not pass; however, in August 2017, Los Angeles City Council adopted the holiday, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, to be celebrated on Sept. 22.
The reason I desire that Indigenous Peoples’ Day establish significance is because some of the younger generation have little to no knowledge of Native Americans and their history as the first people to live in the United States. Younger generations question the existence of Native Americans and their whereabouts in this country.
On a personal note, about a year ago, my seven-year-old brother’s classmate said, “Native Americans do not exist, they all died.” My brother explained that my family is part Native American.
My heritage not only consists of Mexican-American ancestry on both sides, but also that of Native American on my maternal grandfather’s side — his grandmother was from the Apache Nation. My great-great-grandmother survived a genocide, whilst her family suffered being slaughtered at the hands of non-Native Americans. She was hidden at the age of 12 and later adopted by a Spanish family who found her on the side of the road.
I am not suggesting to get rid of Columbus Day but rather to reconsider the person we are “honoring” and why.
Yes, Native Americans are real and are proud. That is why they deserve to be honored through this newly created holiday.
Baracutey • Sep 28, 2017 at 4:26 pm
…And with other holidays our government will set them aside to commemorate an event or a tradition because it is inherent of a cultural and/or religious significance.
For instance, that “insignificant” holiday that you just put down -Columbus Day- was set aside for the observance of Italian-Americans and their culture. They petitioned for that day NOT on 1937 but on 1876. For in all of those years Italian-Americans in this country were marginalized, lynched, worked in slave-like conditions and even were arrested in internment camps during WWII (like the Japanese), something that later led our government to recognize awarding them with a day of their own. And by the way- it was a Mexican (born in Mexico) that helped the Italian-Americans get their petition back in 1876.
So they picked Columbus- who the heck are you to tell Italian-Americans who they can or cannot celebrate? With that logic I should tell Mexican-Americans not to celebrate Cesar Chavez, he used to have his own Mexican countrymen deported because he thought the illegal ones were union busters and scabs! And for that matter, who cares about Chavez Day anyway? I think Fred Korematsu deserves more recognition for his deeds as a civil rights person for ours and the Asian-American community in general.
So our history books taught us little about Columbus? What about a book called ‘A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus’ -written by Washington Irving and has been around since 1828? If you can get past his aggrandizing of the Columbus character 80 percent of what you say is now know was already there in that book!
And there is no Native American Day in California? Oh wait- what is this?
https://www.calvet.ca.gov/Pages/50th-California-Native-American-Day.aspx
It’s in your state, and it’s celebrated every last week of September- and it’s on its 50th year celebration already!?! And what about this?
http://www.ncai.org/initiatives/native-american-heritage-month
A whole month of November to recognize Native Americans! Federally recognized since 2010! All of that but it is not enough to feel recognized, you have to claim Columbus Day away from Italian-Americans in order to feel “respected”?
I think your writing is way off and you didn’t even checked your facts. And most important, YES- you are suggesting to get rid of Columbus Day, it has been your agenda and all of you activists since 1990. And you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, for others that are related to that Columbus narrative whom are not Italian-American are suffering because of your so-called activism. We thank you for such selfishness.
Don Honda • Sep 28, 2017 at 10:54 am
Apparently, “native americans” were not the first “indigenous” people here in North America. Evidence is mounting that they pushed out a previous population of European-centric origin:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-very-first-americans-may-have-had-european-roots-5517714/?no-ist
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170328-the-first-people-who-populated-the-americas
http://sciencenordic.com/dna-links-native-americans-europeans
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/radical-theory-of-first-americans-places-stone-age-europeans-in-delmarva-20000-years-ago/2012/02/28/gIQA4mriiR_story.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0903_030903_bajaskull.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=europeans+were+the+first+americans&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb