The Importance of Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples Day

Indigenous Peoples Day

Columbus Day. Many of us have been taught in elementary - high school that Christopher Columbus was the fantastic man who discovered America and left at that. We have a holiday named after him, Columbus Day. But the history and stories of Columbus are a lot darker than what is in our history books, and to Indigenous people, Columbus is no hero. To them, he represents death, genocide, and loss of home and culture. I talked with several Native women on this topic, and they shared with me the importance of acknowledging the dark truth about North America's past, about Columbus, and why we need to change the holiday in his honor to Indigenous Peoples Day. Let's first hear from Stephanie. These interviews were collected in 2019 & 2020 and have been pieced together now in 2021 to help keep spreading awareness and the conversation going throughout the year, not just on "Columbus Day" or Indigenous Peoples Day.

Stephanie Big Eagle: Ihanktown Dakota Oyate (Yankton Sioux Tribe) and the Kul Wicasa Oyate (lower Brule Sioux). Her native name is Itahcan Wakiyan Winyan, or Reigning Thunderbird Women.

Stephanie works on a beaded ring inside her tattoo parlor/office space, which is in her home in Indianapolis

She is a mother and author of "Thunderbird Rising," a hand poke tattoo artist, a beader, and an activist. She spent time at standing rock in North Dakota in 2016, and her thunderbird design became a symbol of the movement there and was also Stephanie Big Eagles' first tattoo design. She moved back to Indianapolis early this year and is reclaiming a space that was part of her past. You can read her story in her memoir "Thunderbird Rising."

She's also featured in the latest season of "Skindigenous" currently running on @pbs

I asked Stephanie about the importance of acknowledging Indigenous people and indigenous peoples’ day instead of Columbus Day. She shared these words with me:

Stephanie Big Eagle outside her home in Indianapolis

"Acknowledging the First Nations People of the Americas is the first step in bringing balance to a long era of genocide and injustice that began with the arrival of Columbus to Great Turtle Island, or "America," in 1492. I truly believe that if more people were aware of the truth of the atrocious acts Columbus initiated against the Native people, that they would recoil in shame and embarrassment, horrified that the United States government would celebrate such heinous acts, and furthermore, spread lies about what he truly did, bypassing him off as a hero who discovered fully inhabited lands. Changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day offers a chance of reconciliation for our people, and the platform to share our history, culture, and beauty with everyone. We were treated as animals throughout the era of colonization, and it all started with Columbus.

This is about celebrating and
acknowledging our humanity, and recognizing that we are stewards of this land who have this incredible resilience that has enabled us to overcome seemingly insurmountable attempts to eradicate our existence. We once caretook this land and maintained balance, and despite everything we have been through, we will do so again.

The time is now for us to move forward as one people, and for Indigenous people to lead the movement towards a better future for all. Changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day is only the tip of the iceberg towards moving positively in that direction."
-Stephanie Big Eagle (@stephbigeagle)

Indigenous People's Day is taking the place of Columbus Day in more and more cities around the country. It's a way to honor and respect those who first lived, and still do, on the "Americas", turtle Island. Replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day isn't "erasing" history it's accepting a fuller and truer history and gives honor where it belongs. We can talk about Columbus without holding him as a saint, and having a national holiday for him. To the white man, Columbus was held in high esteem as someone who discovered America while to those who were already here, before he landed, see him as someone that brought destruction and death. If we are to walk forward together we need to take a journey backward into our past and see from outside the white European lens. We honor you, Indigenous brothers and sisters. We ask for forgiveness, we stand with you as allies, we will listen to you and learn from you. You have so much to offer.
Though, as a white man, my understanding and words can only go so far when talking about the importance of Indigenous People's Day. I asked another Indigenous person to share with us the importance of this, not only holiday name switch but also a mind and perspective shift. Here is their thoughts:

January 2019 in Washington, DC during the Indigenous People March

"Niltze, nehua notoca Araleyah. Hello, my name is Araleyah. I am a two-spirit womxn from the tribes Mexica and Choctaw. I’m an organizer, activist, healer, ceremonial dancer, educator. To the average American, Columbus Day is a celebration of how the US was discovered and founded. But how can land that is already inhabited by many large, long-lived communities be discovered? Every year Columbus day reminds indigenous people of the trauma we have endured for more than 500 years. It’s no surprise that the US still celebrates this “holiday” when the genocide of indigenous people is still happening as we speak. It’s no surprise that this country idolizes Columbus and his men - who violently kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed the original people of the Americas. Indigenous people still face that kind of violence today."

We are still targets for hate crimes. Our water is still being poisoned. Our communities are still suffering from the poison colonizers gave us (drugs & alcohol). Our children are still being taken away. Our women, the backbones of our communities, are still being stolen. Christopher Columbus sold us as slaves, allowing his men to abuse us and even kill us. Today, Native women are murdered at 10 times the national average. I’m currently writing this from Seattle WA, which has the highest rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women. We are still suffering from the effects of colonization.

We are still suffering from the idolization of Columbus and the false history of the US that has been taught to Americans. It is crucial that we abolish Columbus day, which celebrates the genocide of our people and educate this country on the true history of this land. Indigenous Peoples day should be recognized in every state because we are the original peoples of this land. We are the stewards of this land. We are walking on the bones of our ancestors. Once the average American can recognize and respect the importance of Indigenous people, we can end the violence against us and the violence against the land we live on."

Araleyah smudges as she walks with hundreds of others in Washington, DC during the Indigenous Peoples March in January 2019.

Make room regularly to listen to native voices. Find ways to support indigenous artists, musicians, and creatives. Read their books. Listen to podcasts, youtube videos, seminars, and sermons. Take time to learn their history/our history. Support their community. Acknowledge the land you stand on, and respect their culture. Understand what colonization is, how were all are part of it, and take steps to decolonize areas of your life. You can't do it all in one day. It will take time and intentionality. Find one or two things to do and go from there, or maybe tomorrow, all you do is say "Happy Indigenous People's day" to someone or write it down in your calendar.

One recourse is: https://native-land.ca/

A simple way to acknowledge the land you occupy as a way to remember Native people still exists despite many tries to diminish and erase their culture and very lives. They are here to stay.

LISTEN. LEARN. GROW. BUILD BRIDGES

article composed by Jon Stegenga, founder of Humanizing Through Story