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From Seattle to Baltimore, many Americans were marking Monday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, determined to see it as a triumph of perseverance after centuries marked by trauma. Tribal nations and communities come together for powwows, bazaars, and musical performances, along with other enjoyable events to honor their culture and their history.
Some states and cities have made the second Monday in October a day of honor for decades. native Americans with Italian explorer Christopher COLUMBUSFor which a federal holiday was declared in 1937. and president Joe Biden A declaration was signed recognizing both the days.
chairman donald trumpKeeping a pledge he made in April, he reversed it last week, promising to “reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance and virtue from the leftist arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory.”
Trump’s tribute to the explorer who raised the Spanish flag in the Caribbean in 1492, opening the Americas to “the final conquest of Western civilization” — as well as centuries of disease, slavery and conquest that destroyed indigenous civilizations — is drawing criticism and resignation from Native Americans.
But some advocates say his posture is hardly unique among past presidents, and he would not be discouraged from trying to build consensus around tribal goals.
Swadeshi People’s Day is about inclusion, not exclusion
This is the first year Indigenous Peoples Day has received state recognition in Montana, following a decade-long campaign in the state, which is home to 12 federally recognized tribes.
what changed? Democratic state Sen. Shane Morigeau, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes who sponsored the legislation, framed it not as a holiday that would eliminate Columbus Day, but as a day of “inclusion, healing and bringing people together.”
“It’s not just an us-versus-them kind of day. It’s a day that brings everyone together,” Morigeau said. “And if you don’t want to go check on her and you want to do something else and celebrate another day, you can do that too and our feelings won’t be hurt.”
What matters is that both Native and non-Native people can go to an event or do some self-reflection or even “go down to the river and fish for the day,” Morigeau said.
Following the protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and the racial injustice protests in 2020, more people and institutions questioned the description of Columbus as merely an intrepid sailor and explorer, and argued for a more complete understanding of his historical impact. Trump’s proclamation described the villain as a “true American hero.”
Trump’s proclamation reads, “Disgracefully, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been the prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, denigrate our heroes, and attack our heritage.” “Leftist radicals toppled his statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character and sought to banish him from our public spaces.”
Chase Iron Eyes, director of the Lakota People’s Law Project, said it is Trump who is making it a culture war, when the day should be about learning all aspects of the history surrounding Columbus.
“If Trump wants to celebrate the good things about Christopher Columbus let him do that. Let him do that. But also tell the truth about him and let us celebrate the accomplishments of indigenous people as well,” said Iron Eyes, who is from the Lakota Sioux Nation. “We don’t teach this in American schools.”
Soldier placing medal on injured knee
National Congress of American Indians It seemed deeply troubling when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month that soldiers who killed more than 250 men, women and children at the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre would retain their military honors following a review launched under the Biden administration.
Hegseth described this as part of his effort to root out “woke” thinking.
Iron Eyes, who lives on Pine Ridge, called it sad.
“We have kids who pay attention,” Iron Eyes said. “When Pete Hegseth is doubling down on his desire to honor people who murder non-combatants, women, children and the elderly, kids are paying attention.”
It reinvigorates the Lakota People’s Law Project’s campaign to convince Congress to reinstate the Wounded Knee military medal, he said.
Iron Eyes said, “We’ve worked hard to get to a place where we’re saying to each other, ‘Hey, let’s tell the truth about each other.’ “The natives are not savages. They are not an obstacle to progress. They are not opposed to civilization.”
Increase funding for tribal colleges and universities
In September, Trump’s Education Department redirected nearly $500 million in federal funding from schools serving large numbers of Hispanic students, instead promising funding to historically black colleges and tribal colleges. This could double federal funding for tribal colleges and universities, or TCUs, across the United States to approximately $108 million.
“What Indian Country wants is for us to continue to invest in our tribal citizens and Native peoples and be contributors not only to our tribal economies, but to the American economy as a whole,” said Larry Wright Jr., executive director of the National Congress of American Indians.
According to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, there are 35 accredited TCUS with more than 90 campuses in 15 states, the majority of which are in Indian Country.
The consortium lauded the funding as “progress toward meeting federal trust and treaty obligations,” while also noting that it could create more barriers for students at non-TCU schools. Many Native Americans are enrolled in universities that are losing federal funding.
Tribal appropriations were initially included in the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back federal spending that it sees as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Wright credits the fact that the administration listened to NCAI officials and understood that “Indian Country is not DEI” – and that there are treaty and trust responsibilities that must be met. He said he has had productive conversations with the administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Wright said, “Having this kind of coordination with this administration is a good thing, despite all the rhetoric. I think more than anything else, from a nuanced aspect, Indian Country really depends on bipartisan efforts to make sure that our issues are not ignored and forgotten.”