More California cities to celebrate their first Indigenous Peoples Day
More California cities to celebrate their first Indigenous Peoples Day
By Terria Smith
Three of California’s major cities will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day this year. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento will be featuring events including music, dancing, film screenings, and discussions focused on tribal nations.
The Los Angeles City Council was the first of these three cities to abolish Columbus Day in August 2017, with a 14-1 vote.
City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell (Wyandotte) said that having Los Angeles recognize Indigenous Peoples Day was important nationally.
“Los Angeles County has the largest Native American and Indigenous population,” O’Farrell said. “The mission system was responsible for the largest erasure of Native people. The Tongva people had a village for thousands of years that was where downtown Los Angeles is now, Yagna. I think it’s particularly important that we do it here in Los Angeles in California, because it sends a message to the rest of the country.”
About six months later, in January 2018, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to replace Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day.
Morning Star Gali (Pit River) said that this recognition follows the culmination of a lot of actions that have been initiated by the Bay Area’s Native American community.
“There has been more of a movement,” Gali said. “I mean 10 years ago we didn’t have the land recognition and acknowledgement of the Bay Area being Ohlone territory.”
Los Angeles and San Francisco join close to 60 major U.S. cities including Albuquerque, Berkeley, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle in celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day.
The City of Sacramento has yet to officially get rid of Columbus Day, but there will still be community events to commemorate First Peoples.
Although this recognition is seen as being very important by those in tribal communities in these cities, leaders also find it to be important to non-Native people as well.
“In Los Angeles there are two communities of tribal people: urban Indians and local tribes. This is just one more step in the direction in showing that we are still here,” said Rudy Ortega Jr. (Fernandeño Tataviam) is the Chairman of the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. “Many people in Los Angeles don’t even know that there are Native people who are from Los Angeles. Very few know of their existence.”
O’Farrell said, he would like for this celebration to be part of the bigger movement for Native peoples visibility.
“I want more people who are not Native American to show up at our celebration than anyone else,” he said.
The desire to educate the public is also seen as being important in the Bay Area.
In years past, Morning Star Gali said that she would have to explain to her children’s’ teachers why they weren’t attending school on Columbus Day. As they would go the Sunrise Ceremony on Alcatraz Island. Further, she said it was challenging to redirect what they were being taught.
“As a mother to four children that attend school, this is a battle that we still have to fight in classrooms,” Gali said. “For them to sit in a classroom and be told these lies about Columbus discovering America. Columbus was a lost voyager.”
Rather than celebrating and glorifying a historical figure, like Christopher Columbus, who was responsible for European contact with the Western Hemisphere and the subsequent death and subjugation of millions, the focus will be on the resilience of Indigenous Peoples.
“Ninety-eight percent of Native America was wiped out – We are the survivors. How special is that?” O’Farrell said. “We are fighting to reclaim history and our place in it… We are a very special population.”
Los Angeles will host its celebration on Monday, October 8 – For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/388300611663203/
San Francisco will host its celebration on Monday, October 8 – For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/2268448039838184/
Sacramento will host its celebration on Friday, October 12 – For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/917840988404457/
