Indigenous Peoples Day

Today we will observe Indigenous Peoples Day with a fuller understanding of the impact of our founding on native peoples.

[today’s events](https://ccc.vt.edu/calendar/Indigenous_Peoples_Day.html), which include a morning panel discussion at Newman Library, an afternoon celebration at Solitude with music and food demonstrations, and an evening keynote address by noted scholar, activist, and writer Charlie Amaya Scott. It is important that we continue our conversations with Native peoples about their perspective, culture, and inherent knowledge about our shared history." Today we will observe Indigenous Peoples Day with a fuller understanding of the impact of our founding on Native peoples. [American Indian and Indigenous Community Center](https://ccc.vt.edu/index/aiicc.html); meet our many indigenous faculty, staff, and students; and learn about the land that supports Virginia Tech’s mission and vision during [American Indian and Indigenous Heritage month](https://ccc.vt.edu/calendar/American_Indian_Heritage_Month.html). [InclusiveVT](https://www.inclusive.vt.edu/), our institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence. We recognize their enduring ties to the land and natural resources that continue to support our mission, and we honor the legacy of traditional peoples, past and present, in keeping with

Brooklyn Children's Museum and Brooklyn Public Library are celebrating art and culture on this Indigenous Peoples' Day, Oct. 10.

The museum is partnering with the National Museum of the American Indian and North American Indigenous Center of New York for the day of programming. BPL’s Brooklyn Heights Library will show one movie a day by Indigenous filmmakers from Oct. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society,” he said. 11 to Oct. [n event](https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/lenapehoking-anthology-virtual-20221013) on October 13 at 7:00pm for the spring 2022 [Lenapehoking exhibition](https://www.bklynlibrary.org/exhibitions/lenapehoking) celebrating the release of the “Lenapehoking Anthology,” which includes historical essays, interviews, poems and paintings by leading Lenape and other Indigenous scholars, writers, composers and artists. Brooklyn Children’s Museum will be celebrating Indigenous histories, cultures and heritages with storytelling, performance, games and art-making.

Yes. And here's why. First recognized as a national holiday in 1934, Columbus Day honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus' so-called 'discovery' of the ...

Sign up for the Daily Skimm email newsletter. [The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee](https://skimmth.is/3CFrvby)” by David Treuer…explores Native American history from 1890 to the present. And his James Beard Award-winning restaurant, [Owamni](https://skimmth.is/3MctSpr). “ While there have been some strides forward, a single holiday can’t right historical wrongs. Indigenous communities also face significant health disparities (see: [higher rates of diabetes](https://skimmth.is/3yjMiix), [psychological distress](https://skimmth.is/3MctPtL)) when compared to other US groups, as well as [a shorter life expectancy](https://skimmth.is/3ygMqiI). Today, [an estimated 10%](https://skimmth.is/3V4drQj) reportedly don’t have access to safe drinking water or basic sanitation. [is not enough](https://skimmth.is/3M90kck). Since then, more than a dozen other states and over 100 cities have [followed suit](https://skimmth.is/3M8Ze0i). But this shift isn’t without pushback: Some Italian Americans have [defended](https://skimmth.is/3V8PxTC) Columbus Day as a time to celebrate their heritage, while others have proposed celebrating on another day. That’s because Columbus’ arrival kicked off a wave of colonization — including centuries of [violence](https://skimmth.is/3V6fh37), [displacement](https://skimmth.is/3yhtuR6), and [forced assimilation](https://skimmth.is/3V4huvT). And the effects of climate change (think: [rising sea levels](https://skimmth.is/3M8iafK), [extreme heat](https://skimmth.is/3MbMKVV)) are making their already-diminished amount of land (think: because of [forced relocation](https://skimmth.is/3yhtuR6)) uninhabitable.

Learn about Seattle's public Indigenous art, the country's first distillery on reservation land and a housing project rooted in Native culture.

The floors are named after the seven medicines – sage, sweetgrass, cedar, nettle, salmonberry, bear root and yarrow – and contain a ceremonial gathering space for healing. “Public art is a chance for people to see themselves reflected in the cityscape, which is so often incredibly colonial: gigantic buildings and steel and metal everywhere — it’s such a constant daily reminder of [these] very painful histories for many people,” said local artist and curator Asia Tail. Now Hunter works to bridge the narrowing gap between classical science and the scientific discoveries and intuition that Native cultures have passed down through generations, centuries before the scientific method even existed. The only major American city named after a Native chief, Seattle is built on the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Stillaguamish, Suquamish and Tulalip tribes. American Indian or Alaskan Native individuals make up just 1% of King County’s population, but, according to U.S. [just established it and Juneteenth as city holidays](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-finalizes-indigenous-peoples-day-juneteenth-as-city-holidays/) in March. The responses were overwhelmingly in favor. Programming has especially focused on the impact of recreation in the Snoqualmie corridor, where popular spots are being “loved to death” by outdoor enthusiasts. The installations send a similar message: You are on Indigenous land. Cultural hubs like Chinatown and Africatown celebrate and support historically oppressed groups. Seattle Public Schools has recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day since 2016, though it is not considered a school holiday. A handful of movie theaters even play an acknowledgment before films.

“We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation and terror wrought upon Native communities and tribal nations ...

to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Native people observe Indigenous Peoples Day in a variety of ways. For now, the most significant celebration of Indigenous cultures on federal calendars is Native American Heritage Month in November. [Email the reporter](mailto:[email protected]) to add your events to this list. The termination era left a legacy of poor health, education and economic outcomes that Indigenous activists brought to mainstream awareness throughout the 1970s. But in 2019, lawmakers voted to move the date to coincide with Columbus Day, after hearing from many tribal leaders whose nations already recognized Indigenous Peoples Day. Mary Fallin vetoed the bill, saying she felt it would take away from the standalone significance of Native American Day in November. Federal policy focused on breaking up tribal nations and assimilating Native people into white society for the first half of the 20th century. Lawmakers tried to combine the dates in 2018. president to formally recognize the day](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/10/08/a-proclamation-indigenous-peoples-day-2021/). But in recent years, more states, cities, counties and schools have signed on to celebrate and honor Indigenous cultures instead of Christopher Columbus. More than half of those states have proclamations or resolutions that recognize the day, while the others have laws that grant formal recognition.