Indigenous Peoples’ Day

 

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.  I encourage everyone to celebrate and recognize the many Indigenous communities and cultures that make up our great country. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2021, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.  I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.  I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation.  

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

I live on stolen land. And so do you, if you live anywhere in North, Central or South America. Christopher Columbus did not discover anything. He arrived to a land that was already inhabited by peoples and cultures as old as some cultures found in Europe in 1492. What followed was a systematic dismantling of anything and everything that these peoples possessed: culture, religion, language, way of life. Everything they had was destroyed and discarded in order to impose a European view of the world onto them.

Today I'm celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day, and I think you should, too. Even if you don't have Native American blood. Especially, I'd say if you do not have Native American blood. Nowadays, with so many DNA tests and the handy ancestry apps it is easier to find out about your past. But even if you don't know, I invite you to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day today with me.

While writing this, I discovered how little I knew about Indigenous Peoples, so I did my homework, as George asked me:

The original inhabitants of the area that is now Illinois included:

*The Chickasaw tribe

*The Dakota Sioux tribe

*The Ho-Chunk tribe (Winnebago)

*The Illinois tribe (Illini)

*The Miami tribe

*The Shawnee tribe

Who knew? I didn't. There's barely a sign of these tribes in what is today Illinois, save for a few street signs and one or two monuments here and there tucked away in a little park. Where I live now was the land of the Illini, but there are no federally recognized Indian tribes in Illinois today. The Indian tribes of Illinois are not extinct, but like many other native tribes, they were forced to move to Indian reservations in Oklahoma by the American government. 

There are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations (variously called tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities and native villages) in the United States. Approximately 229 of these ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse nations are located in Alaska; the other federally recognized tribes are located in 35 other states. Additionally, there are state recognized tribes located throughout the United States recognized by their respective state governments.

NATIONALCONGRESSOFAMERICANINDIANS

I had no idea there were still 574 federally recognized Indian Nations in the US, by the wat. Why don't we hear about them? From them? The incapacity of the average American to talk about this is scandalous. Really. And as to why were reservations created, I would say because white people's greed knows no limit, but I'll let someone else with more nuance answer:

'Because the indigenous people, I hate using the terms “Indian” or even “Native American”, were here long before the European settlers came and stole the land from them. After the US became a nation and after many years of conflicts between the native people and the settlers, the Federal government decided to set aside land for these indigenous people and made the natives sign treaties allowing them to live on these reservations. Many of these treaties were later broken by the federal government and forced them to live on often smaller reservations in less hospitable locations.

One of these treaties and what I consider one of the most egregious cases involves the Sioux nation of tribes and the Black Hills of South Dakota, that the federal government originally thought was worthless land but later gold was found in the Black Hills and the government decided they wanted that land back. You can read about it on Wikipedia at: Black Hills land claim - and you can watch a 2011 PBS report about at: Why the Sioux Are Refusing $1.3 Billion. By the way, that estimated $1.3 billion in 2011 sounds like a lot of money but if that was divided up equally between all the members of the Sioux Nation would have only been about $10,000 each.'

CHUCKSTEROLDMAN

So yeah. I was not wrong. Fucking greedy people.

Now,  who do we know that are Indigenous Peoples/ Native Americans? Let's see:

Let's start with the eye candy: 

JASONMOMOA. He's Pawnee and Native Hawaiian. Yes, he is. And if you can find me a finer man, I'll be here all day. 

DEBHAALAND: First Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary (appointed by Uncle Joe, natch). She's a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe. 

PRINCESSNOKIA

She's Taíno and Yoruba. She's a Puerto Rican singer and rapper. 

IRENEBERARD is a Cree and Iupiac actress. You may have seen her in Westworld or Longmire. Also, she WAS Disney's Pocahontas.

SHERMANALEXIE is a Spokane- Cour-d'alene Native American author. He wrote one of the 'banned books' I was talking about a few posts back. That book is in my to-do list this year. 

So there you go. I'm sure the list could go on (Anthony Kiedis, Jimi Hendrix, Tori Amos and many more are said to have Native American blood), but my knowledge of Indigenous People who are well-known in America was very meager. I needed to do something about that. So what about you? Do you know any other Indigenous People that can be added to this list? Where you live, can you point out the actual Peoples it belongs to? How about your ancestry? Do you have Native American blood? This is the perfect day to talk about that. 

XOXO

P.S. if you have basic cable or Hulu, get into Reservation Dogs. I recommend it. These stories are seldom told: