10/10/2022
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October, on October 10 this year, to honor the cultures and histories of the Native American people. The day is centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened their communities.
The first seed of Indigenous Peoples’ Day was planted at a U.N. international conference on discrimination in 1977. The first state to recognize the day was South Dakota in 1989. Berkeley, California, and Santa Cruz followed suit.
Although the day was still considered Columbus Day up to 1937, many people began calling it Indigenous Peoples’ Day to celebrate the rich culture and the lives of the Native American people.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates, recognizes, and honors the beautiful traditions and cultures of the Indigenous People, not just in America, but around the world. Their way of life and culture carries wisdom and valuable insights into how we can live life more sustainably.
Today, 14 U.S. states celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day and not Columbus Day, as well as the District of Columbia. More than 130 cities including Arlington, Amherst, Cambridge, Brookline, Marblehead, Great Barrington, Northampton, Provincetown, Somerville, and Salem also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The Indigenous community is expansive, with 574 federally-recognized tribes in the United States, 630 in Canada, and more than 17 million Indigenous citizens in Mexico. Individuals such as Louise Erdrich, Irene Bedard, Tommy Orange, and Wilma Mankiller are just a few of the incredible and influential people from the Indigenous community who have made and are making history.
One of the most prolific and acclaimed Native American authors, Louise Erdrich has received two National Book Critics Circle Awards for Love Medicine and LaRose, as well as the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction. In addition to her novels, Erdrich has also written children's fiction, poetry, and several non-fiction collections. Erdrich's grandfather was chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa in North Dakota, and the writer is a member of that same tribe today. Her book, The Night Watchman, told the story of her grandfather resisting an attempt by Congress to terminate recognition of the Turtle Mountain Band.
Character actress Irene Bedard has been a fixture in Hollywood for more than two decades, playing Native American characters on shows like Westworld and Longmire, as well as film's such as The New World and The Tree of Life. But Bedard is best known for one of her earliest acting jobs, as the voice and physical model for the title character in Disney's hit Pocahontas. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Bedard's parents are Iñupiaq Eskimo and Cree.
Tommy Orange's debut novel There There told the story of several Indigenous Americans living in Oakland and their experience with urban life. It was a sensation, making the New York Times Best Seller list, earning a prize for best first book from the National Book Circle Awards, and a shortlist spot for the Andrew Carnegie Medals. In the novel, he sought to challenge antiquated ideas around being a Native American, as he told Cowboys & Indians.
Wilma Mankiller was a Native American activist, community organizer, and social worker. She was the first woman elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. In 1985, she worked in the federal administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, where under her leadership, the Cherokee government established new health clinics, early and adult education programs, and more. After her political career, she continued working as an advocate for women’s health, tribal sovereignty, and cancer awareness. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.
“The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.” – Wilma Mankiller
