Indigenous People’s Day: Recognizing Indigenous History, Culture, and Struggle
Byline: Daniel CocklinOn Oct. 12, we celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which is a day to recognize the history and contributions of Indigenous People and the Tribal Nations to the Americas.
The holiday is intentionally held on the same day as Columbus Day, when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas, beginning the harsh treatment and violence against Indigenous Americans and also the European colonization of the land.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden was the first president to recognize the holiday. It is still not an officially recognized federal holiday, though dozens of states observe the holiday.
Anthropologist and professor Shannon Speed said in a 2015 op-ed that “virtually none of my university students have had any education whatsoever in the history of this...