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| In this Sept. 21, 2015, photo, a flyer on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque calls for students to join a protest against Columbus Day. Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, marks the annual Columbus Day nationwide, but in a twist that signals a growing trend, it will also be Indigenous Peoples Day in at least nine U.S. cities this year. |
ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. (AP) -- More cities are recognizing Native Americans on
Columbus Day this year as they revive a movement to change the name of
the holiday to celebrate the history and contributions of indigenous
cultures around the country.
As the U.S.
observes Columbus Day on Monday, it will also be Indigenous Peoples Day
in at least nine cities for the first time this year, including
Albuquerque; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Olympia,
Washington.
Encouraged by city council votes
in Minneapolis and Seattle last year, Native American activists made a
push in dozens of cities in recent months to get local leaders to
officially recognize the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples
Day. Their success was mixed.
The campaigns
say the federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus - and the parades
and pageantry accompanying it - overlook a painful history of
colonialism, enslavement, discrimination and land grabs that followed
the Italian explorer's 1492 arrival in the Americas. The indigenous
holiday takes into account the history and contributions of Native
Americans for a more accurate historical record, activists have argued.
Columbus
Day supporters say the holiday celebrates centuries of cultural
exchange between America and Europe, commemorates an iconic explorer and
honors Italian-Americans, a group that has endured its own share of
discrimination.
"For the Native community
here, Indigenous Peoples Day means a lot. We actually have something,"
said Nick Estes of Albuquerque, who is coordinating a celebration Monday
after the City Council recently issued a proclamation. "We understand
it's just a proclamation, but at the same time, we also understand this
is the beginning of something greater."
Native
Americans are the nation's smallest demographic, making up about 2
percent of the U.S. population. In recent decades, a significant number
of tribal members have moved from reservations to urban areas, where a
large majority live today. The shift makes the cities' resolutions and
proclamations more meaningful, Estes said.
Congress
set aside the second Monday of October as a federal holiday honoring
Columbus in 1934. Over the years, Native Americans have slowly begun
winning more recognition around the day.
South
Dakota renamed Columbus Day to Native American Day in 1990, and it has
been an official state holiday ever since. Berkeley, California, has
observed Indigenous Peoples Day since 1992.
Parades
and festivals that developed around Columbus Day have faced protests
that are known for being confrontational, especially in Denver. Anna
Vann, a longtime member of the Sons of Italy's Denver Lodge, recalls
protests during the 1992 parade, which marked the 500th anniversary of
Columbus' voyage, as the most unnerving and pivotal.
That
year, protesters blocked the parade route for several hours, she said.
After that, the parade wasn't held again until 2000, and it has been
difficult to make it the draw it once was, she said.
"It's
been a struggle to even get people to come and attend the parades as
spectators," Vann said. "It's a celebration of when the Europeans came
over and started their lives here. We wouldn't be where we are today if
it weren't for this history."
The renewed push
for Indigenous Peoples Day carries the sentiment of past decades'
protests against Columbus, but it has proven less confrontational, with
advocates instead finding traction at City Hall.
"They
really didn't prove anything," Rey Garduno, an Albuquerque city
councilman and longtime community organizer, said of the confrontational
protests. "Whatever victory people took from them, you still ended up
at the end of the day in the same place or even worse."
