Indigenous People’s Day

Indigenous People’s Day

Today is Indigenous People’s Day.

It wasn’t until my boyfriend in San Francisco back in 2011 called Columbus Day Indigenous People’s Day that I began to call it the same. He was the first person I had ever heard say Indigenous People’s Day and to honor Native people on this day.

And I am part Native American.

Today it actually makes me sad that people say Columbus Day and honor someone who didn’t discover America but was the beginning of land being taken away from Native people.

In grade school, I remember learning about Manifest Destiny.

It was man’s destiny to take as much land as he could the text books said.

We didn’t learn that peace between the early settlers and Native Americans was not true.

We didn’t learn how Native American people were forced from their lands from the military. Forced to walk from their homes to the West. This time in our history was called the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Native Americans died making the journey.

We didn’t learn about Native American sterilization.

Native American people were sterilized so that they could not reproduce.

I learned about through this through my research on childbirth around the world.

Only yesterday did I learn that Native American children were sent to special schools to break them of their culture and customs much like was done in Africa.

It makes me so sad.

I know it is part of my destiny to stand up for Native Americans and to bring awareness to the injustices they have faced and still face today.

I have been too quiet for too long, but now it’s time.