“Indigenous Peoples Day”: A Positive Step Towards Indigenous Justice
Danica Dignan
On the long weekend of October 10th, many people who were given the day off of work spent time traveling, catching up with friends and family, or relaxing at home. Americans have long referred to this Monday as Columbus Day, referencing the anniversary of the acclaimed Italian explorer’s initial arrival to the Americas.
Recently, however, several states and many cities have chosen to publicly refer to the holiday as Indigenous Peoples Day. This effort honors and recognizes the effect of colonization on the American Indigenous population.
For Indigenous communities, Columbus’s arrival is not a day in history to be celebrated, but instead marks the beginning of years of violence, abuse, and an incursion into a land which was once theirs. Referring to Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day is a step forward in addressing the history and violence that Native Americans have faced since Europeans set foot on the continent.
Native Americans have spent years protesting the celebration of Christopher Columbus as a hero, and have advocated for the name of the holiday to be changed. In 2021, President Biden was the first president to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. This was a win for Native advocacy groups; however, it is just one small step in comparison to the hundreds of years of pain, injustice, and marginalization.
The struggles of Native American communities continue to be overlooked. In the United States, one in three Native Americans are currently living in poverty. Native households are more likely to face homelessness, and the group has a low graduation rate; only 17% of Native Americans pursue higher education, compared to 60% of the U.S. population (DiversityInc). These discrepancies stem from a lack of resources. Access to healthcare, advocacy for mental health, and exploitation of natural resources on Indigenous land are just a few of the many additional factors contributing to the inequity of Indigenous peoples.
Additionally, Native American women face disproportionate violence and danger. According to the National Institute of Justice, 84% of Native American women have experienced violence at some point in their lives, and Native women and girls are murdered at a rate ten times higher than other ethnicities. Thousands of Native women and girls go missing each year, but only a fraction of the reported cases are logged into the Department of Justice’s database; this inconsistency leaves the families of those missing with no answers and increases the vulnerability of the community even more.
Violence in Native communities is not solely a Native problem; 97% of Indigenous women and 90% of men have experienced at least one act of violence committed by a non-Native perpetrator. In contrast, only 35% of women and 33% of men have experienced one or more acts of violence by an Indigenous perpetrator.
PDF recognizes the inequities faced by marginalized communities and we strive to work towards a fairer and more just world for all peoples. Nearly $200,000 moved through PDF to aid Indigenous organizations in fiscal year 2022; ranging from caretaking the environment, to addressing criminal justice system disparities, or language and land reclamation projects that build community resilience.
People of the Confluence (POC), based in Washington, is one of our Braiding New Worlds Fund grantees this year. This indigenous-led group works to rebuild connections between youth and elders to restore the environment. The group promotes Indigenous ideals of non-violence and respect for nature and others through its work.
The 13 Moons of Medicine is one of POC’s year-long programs that educates Native youth about traditional teachings, medicines, and food. Each month, the group brings Indigenous youth to urban areas or national parks to find, identify, and use traditional plants, medicines, and foods.
They also run a program called Planting Roots that supports vulnerable Indigenous youth through community building teachings and training. Topics include ecological restoration and STEM skills. They want to empower youth with the tools to restore and protect ecosystems.
The challenges Indigenous people continue to face today are incredibly difficult. We are proud to support groups like People of the Confluence, who dedicate themselves to providing justice and self-determination through educating the next generation. Whether it is small steps like Indigeneous Peoples Day or 13 Moons of Medicine, social progress is being made thanks to activists around the country
To learn more about PDF’s 40-year history of promoting peace and social justice, as well as the organizations supported by these efforts, visit our website or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you would like to support our fight against incarceration and additional grantmaking efforts, please consider making a contribution today!
Danica is an intern at Peace Development Fund. She is a senior at Umass Amherst, where she is pursuing an English degree with a Social Justice specialization, and a Sociology minor. Danica joined PDF earlier this fall and hopes to build a career in the non-profit field in order to advocate for marginalized groups.
Sources:
https://www.diversityinc.com/the-biggest-issues-facing-the-native-american-community-right-now/
Why-some-celebrate-indigenous-peoples-day-not-columbus-day
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249815.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/columbus-day-protest.html
