Over 40 years ago, participants gathered inside for an international conference held at the United Nations. These participants were voicing against the discrimination toward the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Their proposal was to oppose the celebration of Columbus Day by not eradicating history, but to honor the Native Indigenous Americans also. In recent years, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a day to celebrate and honor the Native Americans, as well as, to commemorate their historical events and cultures.
In 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Columbus Day as a federal holiday to celebrate Italian born explorer Christopher Columbus upon his voyage from Spain to the Caribbean (or as early Europeans called it, the West Indies). Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day are shared on the same day; they are both held on the second Monday in the month of October. However, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a day of observance in various states and municipalities in the United States of America. It is not declared as a federal holiday — yet.
Today, Native Americans might seem as a minority but their pride and resiliency has not diminished. Colonization, diseases, and genocidal wars are just some of the tragedies that the Indigenous People of Americas have faced. Despite the horrors, Native Americans still remain strong to their cultural values like kinship and adoring Mother Nature. Still to this day, Native Americans continue to play music, dance, harvest and share food in their soils, and storytelling wisdom to the future generations. It is easy for any human to express and fall into resentment or hatred. In 2018, I participated in a protest that expressed aggression of the horrors that were led by Christopher Columbus. The protest was held at a former park located in Buffalo, NY. The former park held a sculpture of the famous voyager. I joined in this protest to express my pride of my Native heritage. Whilst the protest ended, a Native man invited all to join him to visit a sacred site at another part of Buffalo, NY. I followed along to discover this site. In the South Buffalo area, on Buffum Street (off of Seneca Street), there lies a park called Seneca Indian Park. The Seneca is one of 6 Tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy (or Haudenosaunee). The Seneca Indian Park is one of the final resting places of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. The Native man took us to remember and honor his ancestors followed by music and dance. Before performing a ritual of commemoration of the man’s ancestors, I noticed the life that breathes above the soil we stood on. Young mushrooms were growing; trees were still standing tall; 3 deer running across private property (possibly formerly meadows); and 1 hawk flew above our heads. My spirit ascended into bliss and such joy to observe all this before we all danced to music from some Tuscarora Peoples (another Tribe of the Iroquois People).
Remember, there is no specific tradition on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It is to invite all to welcome with warm hearts that the Indigenous Peoples of Americas are part of the same race - the human race! There are some places across the nation holding public events to express pride, humility, and equality. No need to despair if you cannot attend to any event. Open your ears played by Native American musicians. Expand your mind by reading books created by Native American writers. Wear apparel from Native American fashion designers. Donate to places that partakes effort into societies like Native American Community Services (NACS) of Erie and Niagara Counties of New York. Together, we all can unite with the utmost respect and equality!
By: Sara Loft