Billings professor argues for consideration of “Indigenous People’s Day”

That’s what was done to recognize Native Americans’ Day in South Dakota and Gov. Walker’s press secretary, Katie Marquette, said in an email that she not aware of any plans from the governor’s office to propose new legislation to create an official state holiday.

The cities that officially call the day “Indigenous People’s Day” are: Berkley, CA, Albuquerque, N.M., St. Paul, Minn., Portland, Ore., Olympia and Seattle, WA.

As people around the United States celebrate Columbus Day Monday, with government offices and most schools closed, many others will be hosting festivities for an alternative celebration: Native American Day.

Celebrating the Indigenous Peoples’ holiday is a way to recognize the history and contributions of Native Americans.

Though Columbus Day this year falls on the same day as the first celebrations of Indigenous Peoples Day, the contending sides agree that the two days should remain separate. “We understand it’s just a proclamation, but at the same time, we also understand this is the beginning of something greater”. Critics of Columbus Day say it glorifies a man responsible for the deaths of Native Americans in his conquest.

Amalia Fourhawks from Florence says, “It’s time to move to make that shift from celebrating something that never happened”.

To celebrate Indigenous People’s History Day, the Shasta Historical Society is teaming up with local tribes for a free program and street fair.

Monday is Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, depending on where you live.

This marks the 523rd anniversary of Columbus’ landing. Other cities followed, albeit slowly.

How do celebrations of Columbus Day measure up around the country? “Yet celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in Berkeley is a chance where the truth shines like the morning sun peaking over the land and gets stronger and stronger with each passing moment”. “It’s been really destructive to the native community over the past 500 years”. His were the actions that opened the floodgates of immigration that led to who we are today: a hybrid European-frontier culture transplanted into the North American continent. “Whatever victory people took from them, you still ended up at the end of the day in the same place or even worse”.