Not Your Grandma’s Columbus Day
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This week, instead of celebrating a genocidal leader, we’re shining the light on some other folks. On Wednesday, International Day of the Girl (#DayOfTheGirl) was celebrated around the world — even Beyonce made a video to commemorate the event — and coincided with #AdaLovelaceDay, the woman who wrote instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800s. And Columbus Day again reminded us of the plight of indigenous people around the world.
To honor indigenous people, we’ve curated stories from Nepal, Canada, Japan, Ecuador, and the U.S., highlighting the successes ethnic minorities, indigenous tribes, and linguistic groups are having in righting past wrongs and shaping their futures. (While of course not ignoring the ethic cleansing of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, and other disappearing indigenous groups.)
In the U.S., indigenous groups are fighting to change the name and focus of Columbus Day, a national holiday that celebrates the explorer — and cruel rapist and murderer — Christopher Columbus, instead choosing to focus on the original inhabitants of the continent with Indigenous Peoples Day. So far, 52 cities have dropped Columbus Day from their observed holiday list including Minneapolis, Austin, and (most recently) Los Angeles. Activists continue to have their sights set on this change in New York City.
Below you’ll see a few of our favorite stories about indigenous populations. Before that, a quick reminder that we’re relaunching The Development Set as BRIGHT Magazine on October 31. If there’s anything you’d like to see in the relaunched publication — or see us leave behind — please drop us a line at hello@honeyguidemedia.org! We exist for you, and want to make sure you love our new magazine as much as we do.
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— Sarika Bansal, Editor-in-Chief, BRIGHT Magazine
Our reads…
“It’s Like a Set Up to Get Rid of Indians”
By Laura Rena Murray for The Development Set
Columbus Day was observed and protested around the world this week, and our feature story and beautiful images offers a glimpse into the life of Heart Warrior Chosa, an ardent champion of the rights of natives, and her fight to keep her granddaughters.
Native Students Do Better When Tribes Run Schools
By Ahniwake Rose for Bright
Charter schools with culture-based education for Native students believe they’re not only lowering dropout rates, but turning education — a longtime weapon against Native people — into a tool.
Photos: After years of forced assimilation, Canada’s indigenous people begin to heal
By Daniella Zalcman for Quartz
Renowned documentary photographer Daniella Zalcman’s Pulitzer Center-funded series Signs of your Identity captures the revitalization of First Nations culture in Western Canada
Ecuador’s Push to Let Women Stand During Childbirth
By Anna-Catherine Brigida for The Development Set
Doctors are turning to indigenous midwives to learn culturally accepted forms of healthcare, like “vertical birthing.” And it’s helping to reduce maternal deaths.
5 Young Native Americans On What Indigenous Peoples Day Means To Them
By Sarah Ruiz-Grossman for Huffington Post
After years of advocacy, over 50 cities in the US have changed the name and focus of the controversial Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day. Last August, Los Angeles changed and joined the club and many Native Americans couldn’t be happier but still hope for a national change.
Indigenous Nepali Language With Only Two Fluent Speakers Sees Pages of Hope in Newly Launched Dictionary
By Sanjib Chaudhary for Global Voices
The Kusunda language is ‘critically endangered.’ It has no script or written records and very few speakers. But with help from a handful of researchers, the Kusunda people might have a way to save this unique Nepali language.
From Prejudice to Pride
By Jude Isabella for Hakai Magazine
For over a century, the Japanese government, along with anthropologists and academics, tried to shroud the existence of the Ainu, an indigenous tribe, from Japan’s history. And now, pens writer and editor-in-chief of Hakai Magazine Jude Isabella, the Japanese seem to be all in.
It Takes A Village to Not Marry A Girl
By Didem Tali for The Development Set
Of course, we had to recognize #DayOfTheGirl with a look at how some communities in Malawi are fighting child marriage their own terms — with music, dance, and a few tears.
