Canceling Columbus
More states and cities are adopting Indigenous Peoples Day since it was first proposed in 1977
Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 falls on October 12.
This story is a project of the Indigenously newsletter. Sign up today. It’s free.
In 1977, dozens of delegates from across Indian Country traveled to the UN Geneva, to make the first declaration for Indigenous Peoples Day. Forty-three years later, this nascent attempt at narrative change is now a trend that’s wildly catching on in America.
This Monday, October 12, will mark the thirtieth anniversary since the first state in the Union formally replaced Columbus Day with a day to acknowledge a more accurate representation of American history— one that involves those who were actually here.
At the foot of the Crazy Horse Memorial in 1990, the late Governor George Mickelson (R-SD) pledged a “Year of Reconciliation” upon declaring what is today, a recognized holiday in the state, Native American Day. The commemoration marked the somber centennial anniversary of the murder of Lakota warrior, Sitting Bull, and the massacre at Wounded Knee. Both events happened in the year 1890.
Lakota journalist Tim Giago was writing for Indian Country Today when he interviewed Mickelson in the year…
