Why does Indigenous Peoples Day matter?
I'll keep this short and simple. I normally don't write posts relating to cultures, traditions, political themes, et cetera, because I feel as though I don't know enough to properly formulate my thoughts, therefore, making me feel inadequate to actually write it out. So, I'm going to give it a shot, bear with me.
(Also to state, the term 'indigenous' or 'Native Americans', do we really have the right to give them this term when they were recognized by nations and tribes before the U.S. gov't felt the need to distinguish these groups of people? Just a thought.)
To start off, Christopher Columbus sucks. He and his people took land from others, raped and tortured people, and robbed people of the right to their culture.
This has caused Indigenous people to slowly try and regain the traditions that they have lost over the years due to colonization. Their lives have changed completely because of a man's decision to feel the need to control others' rights.
Columbus Day didn't even need to exist in the first place because the U.S. is recognizing and celebrating evil.
However, a few cities throughout the U.S. decided to rid the idea of Columbus Day and changed it to Indigenous Peoples Day, and the thought of this makes me so happy that cities have decided to take a stand against a day that had represented the robbery of people's livelihood and traditions.
We need to recognize that there were groups of people in this country before Columbus made acts to colonize it. That there were people who had families, traditions, and livelihoods. People were doing completely fine before his feet landed in the U.S.
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrating the Native American culture and what brings them closer together. Not only do they need to know or remember what they had lost and how they can work to continue traditions, but those who are not of Native American descent need to know as well.
People have to work together to support those who were oppressed and still are oppressed till this day. They deserve the chance to celebrate who they are and what they stand for. We owe it to them to be there for them and stand in the fight to protect their rights.
So in conclusion, Indigenous Peoples Day matters because they are human beings who have a history of being treated negatively and have lost so much. They deserve to be respected because, in all honesty, they were here first and were doing completely fine before Columbus came over, let alone even existed.
We have to recognize what is wrong so that we don't make the same mistakes continuously.
