October 13th Is Indigenous People’s Day

1.
“Indian Removal, as it has been politely called, cleaned the land for white occupancy between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, cleared it for cotton in the South and grain in the North, for expansion, immigration, canals, railroads, new cities, and the building of a huge continental empire clear across to the Pacific Ocean.” - Howard Zinn

According to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the estimated pre-1492 population of what is now called the United States ranges from 5 million to 15 million. By the late 1800s, the number of indigenous people was down to 25,000. Such a holocaust is only possible if the long traditional of dehumanization is utilized as a shield of denial.

"There is a profound historical legacy in the United States, going back to people like George Washington, for example, describing Indians as ‘wild beasts of the forest’ and ‘savage as the wolf,’” explains Ward Churchill.

Broken treaties (more than 400 signed and every single one broken), innumerable massacres (from the deliberate genocide of Powhatans to the slaughter at Wounded Knee), forced marches (i.e. the Trail of Tears relocating the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma), and federally sanctioned dehumanization… the treatment of Native Americans reads like a hideous catalogue of crime.

Above extract from here

2.
Note On the weekend when the United States celebrates the exploits of Christopher Columbus there is increasing debate as to whether this is a person who should be celebrated. Seattle and Minneapolis have both abandoned Columbus Day in favor of focusing on Indigenous peoples.
The brief movie (link here) is based on the diary of one of those,  Bartolomé de Las Casas, who was on the voyage with Columbus when he “discovered” the new world. It is a harsh reality and brutal reality to face therefore view discretion is advised.


3.
The Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to celebrate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
While the day is marked federally as Columbus Day, the resolution states the newly recognized day will be an opportunity for the city "to celebrate the thriving cultures and values of the Indigenous Peoples of our region."
"The City of Seattle strongly encourages Seattle Public Schools to include the teaching of indigenous people's history," the text also notes.
Council member Kshama Sawant, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said at the Council meeting that it "is about more than just a name change. It is about educating ourselves and our children, about taking a stand against racism and discrimination."
"When Columbus arrived on this continent, there were an estimated 50 – 100 million indigenous people already living in what came to be known as the 'New World.' He did not embark on a simple voyage of exploration. It was always intended as a voyage of conquest and, ultimately, colonization."
Seattle "should not honor a man who played such a pivotal role in the worst genocide humankind has ever known," the socialist said.

In response to objections to those who felt the change would be an affront to Italian-Americans, Sawant said that the true Italian-Americans to be celebrated are those who engaged in struggles for social justice.
Bill Bigelow, Curriculum Editor of Rethinking Schools and co-editor of Rethinking Columbus, which offers resources for teaching about the impact of Columbus on the Americas, said he was delighted with Seattle's declaration.
"Too many children still learn the myth that Christopher Columbus discovered America. It's not a harmless story," he told Common Dreams.
"The Columbus myth erases the humanity of Indigenous Peoples and offers legitimacy to the notion that it's OK for big countries to bully little countries and for white people to dominate people of color. These are not values our children should learn. I hope Seattle's resolution inspires other cities and school districts to rethink Columbus and to honor Indigenous Peoples," Bigelow said.
The City Council move comes a week after the Seattle School Board made the same unanimous decision.


from here