[Ed note: In observance of the US federal holiday which is observed on Monday October 11, 2021, I am inviting the editorial staff to run stories on a weekend schedule tomorrow. Please join me in thanking them for all their hard work and for the sacrifice of their spare time and energy! --martyb.]
Biden becomes first president to issue proclamation marking Indigenous Peoples' Day:
President Joe Biden issued a proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples' Day on Friday, becoming the first US president to do so, the White House said.
"The contributions that Indigenous peoples have made throughout history — in public service, entrepreneurship, scholarship, the arts, and countless other fields — are integral to our Nation, our culture, and our society," Biden wrote in the proclamation Friday. "Today, we acknowledge the significant sacrifices made by Native peoples to this country — and recognize their many ongoing contributions to our Nation."
Biden also marked a change of course from previous administrations in his proclamation marking Columbus Day, which honors the explorer Christopher Columbus. In that proclamation, the President acknowledged the death and destruction wrought on native communities after Columbus journeyed to North America in the late 1500s, ushering in an age of European exploration of the Western Hemisphere.
"Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. It is a measure of our greatness as a Nation that we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — that we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them," Biden wrote.
More than 100 cities -- including Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco -- and a number of states -- including Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon -- have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day, choosing instead to recognize the native populations that were displaced and decimated after Columbus and other European explorers reached the continent. Berkeley, California, was the first city to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day, in 1992.
Also at Al Jazeera.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday October 11 2021, @06:19PM (1 child)
When Christianity took over in Rome, they layered their holidays on top of the old Roman ones. It was an effective way of erasing the old pagan rites.
Layering Indigenous People's Day on top of Columbus Day sounds similar.
Personally I think there ought to be more recognition of Native American accomplishments, but there are a lot of available days that could be used without erasing somebody else.
Also, it might bear thinking about that lumping all tribes in together is itself a bit suspect, because somebody descended from the Maya might not particularly like to be equated with an Inuit, or vice versa.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 11 2021, @09:59PM
》 Personally I think there ought to be more recognition of Native American accomplishments,
Then we would be celebrating Native American Hour, not Native America Day.