Every year Columbus Day rolls around and again we extol the indigenous people who were actually here and not “discovered” at all.  And then the day passes, and we continue telling the story about Columbus.  Teaching school children he discovered America and celebrating him as a hero when the actual history uncovered of late is not such a heroic adventure or innocent story.   

Perhaps Marietta should think about adopting and celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day because Marietta Ohio as the first organized settlement in the Northwest Territory established under the Ordinance of 1787 has played a role in how this story shaped our nation and how we think about it.  

The literature about Native Americans is huge covering every aspect of the social, political and religious history from the early builders of the mounds to the contributions of Native Americans today.  In the discussions to follow I will address the cultural side of the issue where culture is defined as the whole way of life of a people, also recognizing that Native Americans known and characterized in treaties as “Indians” are not a homogenous group

For now we'll start with the issue of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples day here in Marietta OH.  

 

According to NPR Indigenous Peoples Day (IPD) was first proposed in 1977 at a United Nations conference on discrimination against them but it wasn't until 1989 that South Dakota switch out Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day.  Berkeley, CA was the first city to do so and many states and cities have made the change even our own Columbus Ohio has done so   https://www.npr.org/2019/10/14/769083847/columbus-day-or-indigenous-peoples-day

The states listed below and the District of Columbia now observe Native American or Indigenous Peoples’ Day, in place of or in addition to Columbus Day. Most of them have followed the lead of their cities and smaller communities:

▪ Alabama ▪︎ Alaska ▪︎ District of Columbia ▪︎ Hawai’i ▪︎ Idaho ▪︎ Iowa ▪︎ Louisiana ▪︎ Maine ▪︎ Michigan

▪︎ Minnesota ▪︎ New Mexico ▪︎ North Carolina ▪︎ Oklahoma ▪︎ Oregon ▪︎ South Dakota ▪︎ Vermont ▪︎ Virginia

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2020/10/12/indigenous-peoples-day-updated2020/

Here is a website that lists the cities that celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.  This includes our own Columbus, Ohio.   https://indianyouth.org/cities-states-celebrate-indigenous-peoples-day/

As you notice Ohio is not one of the states, but Columbus, Ohio does celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.  Because of our history and the mounds, of which we are so proud, Marietta, Ohio should provide the leadership in supporting the move by acknowledging Indigenous Peoples Day.