National Indigenous Peoples Day 2022: Everything to Know – Newsweek

Many Americans stayed home from work and school on Monday in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. The holiday is important to tribal leaders and community members nationwide who have long fought to safeguard Native communities.

Indigenous Peoples Day falls on the second Monday in October. It's honored in addition to, or instead of, Columbus Day by more than 130 cities, the District of Columbia and 14 states, Smithsonian Magazine reports.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., told Newsweek about the holiday's significance.

"It's very meaningful to Cherokee Nation; I know that it is very meaningful for Native peoples all over the country," he said. "And increasingly, it is important to non-Natives who...recognize the need to celebrate Native heritage, look back at the history and really celebrate the future that we all have together."

Indigenous Peoples Day isn't yet an official federal holiday, but it was recognized at the federal level for the first time last year. That acknowledgment was decades in the making.

In 1977, Indigenous delegates at the United Nations conference resolved that October 12 should be observed as an "international day of solidarity with the Indigenous peoples of the Americas."

South Dakota began celebrating Native American Day back in 1990, per CNN. Two years later, the city of Berkeley, California, celebrated Indigenous Peoples' Day as a way to rail against the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.

Many argue that the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus represents the colonization of Indigenous lands and the slaughter of Native communities. Hoskin told Newsweek that "honoring [Columbus] on a holiday really obscures the atrocities done under his command."

It's important to understand the facts surrounding what Columbus and other colonizers did, and the consequences of those actions, he added.

"We have to understand how to reconcile that today, and to know our history better and then to collectively do better as Americans," Hoskin continued. "And I think we can't fully do that so long as we are honoring Christopher Columbus as some sort of a great savior, because it really obscures the great damage he did to Native peoples, which is a history worthy of study and worthy of reflection."

Those looking to celebrate should start by recognizing the Indigenous lands on which they live and the original peoples who called it home, Smithsonian Magazine notes. Observers can moon- and stargaze "from a Native perspective," plus spend time outside to honor nature.

People can also support work by Indigenous creators, from podcasts like This Land by Rebecca Nagle to TV shows like Hulu's Reservation Dogs.

Hoskin encourages participants to realize that there are more than 500 tribes countrywide, each with unique stories and histories.

"We do, of course, have similar themes running through our history of dispossession, of oppression, but also a large measure of triumph here in the modern era," he said. "If Americans will think about that, that'll be helpful, because one of the problems we've had is just a lack of knowledge of our place in the history of this continent. And that lack of knowledge can lead to things like harmful federal Indian policy or state government actions that trample on Native rights."

Many social media users have commemorated the holiday on Twitter.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who's a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, posted a video outlining the work done by the administration of President Joe Biden to help Indigenous communities.

"Today we celebrate the strength of Indigenous communities, the traditions and cultures that have survived millennia, and our fervent hope for the future. Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day, everyone!" Haaland wrote in a tweet.

The White House also issued a proclamation ahead of the holiday, acknowledging that for hundreds of years, Indigenous peoples were ripped from their lands, forced to assimilate and banned from practicing sacred customs. The proclamation further noted Natives' continued contribution to the arts, scholarship, public service and the law, honoring them for "shaping the contours of this country since time immemorial."

Other advocates also commemorated the day on Twitter, including Bernice King, daughter of late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I am remembering and reflecting on the sacrifice, resilience, authenticity, and erasure of Indigenous groups and tribal communities in America and across the globe," King wrote in a tweet. "We celebrate the people, stories, and cultures and commit to justice in our World House."

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National Indigenous Peoples Day 2022: Everything to Know - Newsweek