Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day - Poster of the Week
- politicalgraphics
- Oct 10
- 3 min read
Our True History
Ernesto Yerena
Digital Print, circa 2016
Los Angeles, CA
48292
Monday, October 13th, is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The holiday began at local and state levels as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day, a U.S. federal holiday commemorating Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. When celebrating Columbus Day, the subsequent genocide of the native peoples and cultures was never taught.
In 1977, the United Nations International Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations proposed replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Berkeley was the first city to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in 1992–the quincentennial year of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas.
Indigenous activism has been instrumental in helping reshape our understanding of American history. Indigenous history usually ends before 1900 in American history textbooks, resulting in most children growing up believing that there are no more Native Americans. Most Americans still don't understand that the genocide is ongoing: through mass incarceration, legal suppression of cultural traditions, land theft, the disappearance and murder of Indigenous women and girls, and more. This misunderstanding is dangerous as it enables too many to ignore the ongoing need for justice for Native Americans.
It is vital for us all to become familiar with the history of Native tribes. We must continue to ask: What peoples were displaced from the land I live and work on? How can they best be supported? What does “land back” mean for my local community?
Ernesto Yerena, the artist who created today’s Poster of the Week, wrote that he “was inspired by the American history books in American public schools who never teach us the true history of this country let alone teach people with Indigenous ancestry to the continent the true history of their ancestors. This image is in honor of our ancestors. This print's purpose is to hopefully get people to question borders / colonizations / nation state built over our ancestral nation / our indigenous diet / our connection with nature / womyn [women] and men dynamics / medicine / and many types of knowledge.”
Ways to celebrate this holiday include:
Educate yourself, your children, and others about the real impact of Columbus on Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Read a book written by or watch a film/tv show made by Indigenous creatives
Plant native flora to support biodiverse, healthy ecosystems
Attend a local event hosted by your local Native community (if open to the public)
Donate to causes that support Indigenous peoples including:
the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
and the Warrior Women Project
Resources:
References:
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