Every 9 August, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed to bring attention to the needs of various population groups. This day commemorates the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, which took place in Geneva in 1982 and was set by UN General Assembly resolution 49/214 in December 1994.
Every year, UNESCO celebrates the Day by disseminating details on initiatives and events that are pertinent to the current year’s theme.
At a U.N. international meeting on discrimination in 1977, the first germ of Indigenous Peoples’ Day was sown. South Dakota was the first state to observe the day in 1989. Santa Cruz, California, and Berkeley, California, did the same.
Up until 1937, the day was still observed as Columbus Day, but many people started referring to it as Indigenous Peoples’ Day to honour the vibrant culture and way of life of Native Americans.
Columbus Day has long been upsetting to Native Americans because it celebrates a horrific past that includes 500 years of colonial torture and oppression by European explorers like Columbus. Indigenous Peoples’ Day calls attention to the suffering, trauma, and unfulfilled promises that the commemoration of Columbus Day obliterated. The native people had successfully maintained self-sufficient societies that had supported existence for thousands of years before his arrival.
Every year, more states, communities, and cities across the United States of America join the push to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The rich customs and cultures of the Indigenous People, not just in America but all across the world, are honoured and celebrated on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Their culture and manner of life include wisdom and priceless insights about how we can live more sustainably.
Instead of commemorating Columbus Day today, 14 American states do so, along with the District of Columbia. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed in more than 130 cities, including Arlington, Amherst, Cambridge, Brookline, Marblehead, Great Barrington, Northampton, Provincetown, Somerville, and Salem. Numerous organisations have established scholarships to help solve the issue of indigenous peoples’ limited access to higher education.
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