Essential reading on, and beyond, Indigenous Peoples Day
Formerly known as Columbus Day, today is Indigenous Peoples Day in more than 80 (and counting)
cities, counties and states. While official recognition of this day began in the late ‘70s, with the UN
discussing the replacement of Columbus Day, resistance and challenge to said “holiday” existed in
the hearts and minds of indigenous and native peoples long before cities or states began to observe
[5] Indigenous Peoples Day.
As land defenders − people who are working for indigenous territories to be protected from
contamination and exploitation − we see Indigenous Peoples Day as progress; it signals a crucial
shift in our culture to recognize the dark past of colonization. No longer are our communities,
towns, cities and states remaining silent and complacent in celebrating the cultural genocide that
[10] ensued after Christopher Columbus landed on Turtle Island (a.k.a. North America). Today also
means that the erasure of our narrative as indigenous peoples is ending and our truths are rising
to the surface. These truths include: Christopher Columbus was not a hero; he was a murderer.
The land we all exist on is stolen. The history we’ve been taught is not accurate or complete. And
perhaps most important among those truths, indigenous lands are still being colonized, and our
[15] people are still suffering the trauma and impacts of colonization.
Across the country, we continue to see the violation of our rights and treaties as extractive projects
are proposed and constructed. Across the nation, we continue to grieve our missing and murdered
indigenous women, victims of violence brought to their communities by extractive oil and mining
projects. We continue to bear the brunt of climate change as our food sovereignty is threatened
[20] by dying ecosystems and as our animal relatives are becoming extinct due to land loss, warmer
seasons and/or contamination. And now, we are fighting for the very right to resist as anti-protest
laws emerge across the country, which aim to criminalize our people for protecting what is most
sacred to us.
Yet, despite these challenges, our people and communities are demonstrating incredible bravery
[25] and innovation to bring forth healing and justice. Through the tireless work of indigenous
organizers, activists, knowledge keepers and artists, we are learning about what is working and
what our movements need more of to dismantle systems like white supremacy and systemic racism
that colonization has imposed on our communities.
So while we could dive into the stories of how our people are still being attacked by the many forms
[30] of colonization, we find it important on this day, a day that symbolizes progress and evolution,
to acknowledge what is working in our communities and in our movements. All too often, our
people are framed as victims, and while there’s truth in those narratives, it’s also critical, for our
self-actualization as indigenous peoples, to have our strengths, our resilience and our creativity
seen and honored.
JADE BEGAY AND DALLAS GOLDTOOTH sierraclub.org, 08/10/2018
In this text, the authors advocate the following cause:
