SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Taking Stand Against Racism and Discrimination,' Seattle Adopts Indigenous Peoples' Day
The second Monday in October will no longer be celebrated as Columbus Day in the city
Oct 07, 2014
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.
Councilmember 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.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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.
Councilmember 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.
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.
Councilmember 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.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.