At Reliance Health, we embrace a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and have made the decision to embrace the true history of this continent, and change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. We celebrate, honor, and respect our Native American staff and members, and all the Indigenous Peoples of the World. We recognize that the Indigenous Peoples lived on the North American continent for over 30,000 years1, long before Columbus supposedly discovered the Americas.
During the late 60s, 70s, and 80s there was the Black Power Movement fighting for the rights of the Black Community. These turbulent times also gave rise to the American Indian Movement and the organization of the Red Power Movement. Both were born out of the frustration, the anger and the increased termination of tribes, increased unemployment and police violence. The original purpose of the American Indian Movement (AIM) ‘was fighting police violence2. It then moved towards the goals of ‘self-determination and liberation.’ AIM led to the national development of the Red Power Movement (RPM). The RPM gained strength and numbers as Indigenous Tribes fought for their rights and the reversal of tribe recognition termination. One of the items the RPM wanted and worked for was the acknowledgment that Columbus did not discover America, and true history of the American takeover of the country be taught. They worked for the end of discrimination and equity.
The first proposal to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day came in 1977 at the United Nations as a way to recognize, honor, and celebrate the first people to live in North America, but it wasn’t recognized as an official holiday until 1989 when South Dakota Governor Mickelson sought to ‘seek reconciliation between Native Americans and whites after historically bad relations.’ This passed the state legislature and ‘1990 was declared a Year of Reconciliation and to rename Columbus Day as Native American Day3.
“To date, 14 states— Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin as well as the District of Columbia, more than 130 cities, and growing numbers of school districts celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day4, including Reliance Health.
1 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/11/ancient-dna-reveals-complex-migrations-first-americans/#close
2 https://socialistworker.org/2018/08/08/1968-the-rise-of-the-red-power-movement
3 https://www.aclusd.org/en/news/south-dakota-its-native-american-day-not-columbus-day
4 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2020/10/07/indigenous-peoples-day-2020/#:~:text=To%20date%2C%2014%20states%E2%80%94%20Alabama,of%20or%20in%20addition%20to