Sunday Platform | Leader Anne Klaeysen: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

In 1977 at a United Nations sponsored conference in Geneva, Switzerland on discrimination against indigenous populations in the Americas, the idea of replacing Columbus Day was raised. The holiday was first instituted in Berkeley, California in 1992, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. It later spread to Santa Cruz, California in 1994, and then to various other cities and states beginning in the mid-to-late 2010s.  “Indigenous Peoples Day” reimagines Columbus Day and changes a celebration of colonialism into an opportunity to reveal historical truths about the genocide and oppression of indigenous peoples in the Americas, to organize against current injustices, and to celebrate indigenous resistance.

Presider: Barbara Carlsen

Shared Charity: American Indian Community House