President Biden Has Designated Monday As Indigenous People's Day
Designation counters brutal legacy of Christopher Columbus
Although this second Monday in October has traditionally been set aside to commemorate the history of Christopher Columbus, it's become increasingly known that the legacy which the Italian explorer left — particularly on the indigenous peoples he encountered in North America — was marked by slavery, rape, brutality and genocide.
Which makes the half-century-old Columbus Day holiday less-than-appropriate in the eyes of many, including the nation’s American Indian population.
This year — 50 years after the first federally celebrated Columbus Day — President Biden's offered an alternative: Indigenous People's Day.
The White House issued a proclamation Friday making it so.
“Recognizing ... Indigenous People's Day is something the president felt strongly about personally. He's happy to be the first president to celebrate and to make it the history moving forward,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
In the proclamation, Biden suggests that Americans use Indigenous People's Day to reflect on the violent and brutal history wrought on the indigenous populations of the United States over several centuries.
“The Federal Government has a solemn obligation to lift up and invest in the future of Indigenous people and empower Tribal Nations to govern their own communities and make their own decisions. We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror wrought upon Native communities and Tribal Nations throughout our country,” Biden's proclamation said. “Today, we acknowledge the significant sacrifices made by Native peoples to this country — and recognize their many ongoing contributions to our Nation.
“On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today. I encourage everyone to celebrate and recognize the many Indigenous communities and cultures that make up our great country,” he added.
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