Reflections
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
A Litany of Confession for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
by Rev. Mary Hammond
There are no words in the English language adequate to confess the impacts of white settler colonialism on the Indigenous People of this nation and this world. The first step in the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is to admit that we have a problem. We come today, this first Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Oberlin, Ohio, and acknowledge that this nation was founded on white supremacy, forced assimilation, and genocide, much of this wedding Christianity with the colonization of the Americas. This brutal legacy has continued in many forms to this day. The United States as a nation has held no formal hearings on these crimes of lasting magnitude. There has been no national Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There has been no societal reckoning.
Why We Worked for Indigenous Peoples' Day in Oberlin, OH
by Cindi and Jeriel Byron-Dixon
Columbus Day has a controversial history in the US, despite being one of the newer federal holidays. In 1992, Berkley, CA, became the first city in the United States to reject Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Twenty-five years later, as of Oct. 9, Time reports a list of 55 cities which have done the same—as well as three universities, three states, two cities which celebrate both, and South Dakota, which replaced Columbus Day with Native American Day in 1990. More communities are considering the same, including Washington, DC itself. As of October 2017, Oberlin, OH, is on the list, and Cindi and Jeriel Byron-Dixon can tell you why.