Forget Columbus Day and Check Out #IndigenousPeoplesDay Instead

 

After everything indigenous people have endured we are still standing strong & take immense pride in our identity. #IndigenousPeoplesDay

-- Ashley (@AshCallingbull) October 12, 2015

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day to all the Indigenous peoples on Mother Earth

-- Frank Waln (@FrankWaln) October 12, 2015

Today, Albuquerque and Portland will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day as a city for the first time. Seattle, St. Paul, and Minneapolis are among the other nine cities standing in solidarity with indigenous peoples. 

Happy #IndigenousPeoplesDaypic.twitter.com/sasyz0uNHp

-- Onondaga Nation (@OnondagaNation) October 12, 2015

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day, my relatives. Today, we celebrate indigenous resilience.

-- Simon Moya-Smith (@SimonMoyaSmith) October 12, 2015

Indigenous Peoples Day is both an inclusive celebration of indigenous resistance and effort to recognize the marginalization of these communities. (Not to mention an effort to highlight the colonization of land and the genocide of its Native peoples.) It's also a day to reflect on the achievements and resilience of Native peoples who stand strong despite the institutionalized odds pitted against them. 

#IndigenousPeoplesDay celebration, Randall's Island, NYC. https://t.co/PTQaesgZtY

-- Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) October 12, 2015

"I am not a mascot."#IndigenousPeoplesDay#Nonviolence365pic.twitter.com/7dTlH2xi6R

-- The King Center (@TheKingCenter) October 12, 2015

#IndigenousPeoplesDay rally at @BrownUniversity. #Tsalagi#Haudenosaunee#Nativeacademics (shirt by @oxdxclothing!) pic.twitter.com/7TQqS1QUSx

-- Dr. Adrienne Keene (@NativeApprops) October 12, 2015

Though these resolutions for Indigenous Peoples Day can't override the federal holiday, it's a movement in the right direction. Be sure to peep the #IndigenousPeoplesDay hashtag and stay woke on your local indigenous issues. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! 
 

[h/t Refinery29]