Indigenous peoples’ day: Joe Biden becomes first president to issue proclamation
US President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden on Friday issued a proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples' Day, becoming the first US president to do so.
Biden in his proclamation highlighted that American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have built vibrant and diverse cultures. "On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations," he wrote.
The President acknowledged the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.
"It is a measure of our greatness as a Nation that we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — that we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them," wrote Biden.
More than 100 cities, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, and several states, including Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon, have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day.
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This comes as they choose to recognise the native populations that were displaced and decimated after Columbus and other European explorers reached the continent.
Berkeley, California, was the first city to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day, in 1992.
The proclamation read, "NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2021, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Friday's announcement did not entail ending Columbus Day as a federal holiday.
Psaki was quoted by CNN as saying, "Well, today is both Columbus Day, as of now ... as well as Indigenous Peoples' Day."
"I'm not aware of any discussion of ending that either, ending the prior federal holiday at this point, but I know that recognizing today as Indigenous Peoples' Day is something that the President felt strongly about personally, he's happy to be the first president to celebrate and to make it, the history of moving forward."