Lucas, more communities across the country are choosing to
celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in lieu of Columbus Day. Indigenous Peoples Day
honors the history and culture of Native American people, as well as recognizes
the power and importance of their voices in shaping culture and policy today.
Our government's continued recognition of Christopher Columbus Day
as a federal holiday bestows honor on a legacy of enslavement and genocide.
This holiday celebrates Columbus' savage conquests which set the stage
for not only the erasure of Native peoples and theft of their lands, but
also the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Sign the petition: Demand that Congress stop recognizing Columbus Day as
a federal holiday.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's fight against the Dakota Access pipeline
proves how dangerous it is to glorify conquest and genocide. These are
not only horrific acts of a distant past. Hundreds of tribes are gathered
right now to bolster the fight for recognition of their tribal nations,
the rights to their own land, and even access to safe water.
There is growing support for the movement to honor native peoples and
to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, but it is far from universal. Several
cities have defeated Indigenous Peoples Day proposals, and our federal
government continues to honor Christopher Columbus as a national hero.
Sign the petition: Demand that Congress stop recognizing Columbus Day as
a federal holiday.
Keep fighting,
Irna Landrum, Daily Kos