GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Monday marks two holidays across our country this year.
The emergence of Indigenous Peoples Day, which coincides with Columbus Day, has focused on celebrating Native heritage and history.
Native American culture runs deep in the state of Wisconsin. It has 11 federally recognized tribal nations.
The Oneida Nation helped mark Indigenous Peoples Day with a tobacco thanksgiving ceremony, which included an eagle being released back into the wild.
“In also trying to make sure that people recognize, you know, us being able to tell our story from our perspective of the history that has now become the United States,” said Tehassi Hill, chairman for Oneida Nation.
While Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates their contributions to the United States of America, it’s also a day to reflect on the past mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.
Oneida and Native American heritage is taught at Green Bay’s public schools, with the help of teachers like Angela Danforth.
“You get to teach many different ethnicities and backgrounds about what is the Oneida Nation, what is it to be Indigenous, what are our traditions and stuff like that,” said Danforth, a First Nations specialist at King Elementary School.
The federal government recognizes both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday, but beginning back in 2019, Gov. Tony Evers declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Organizations like the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) want to preserve the legacy of Columbus Day, which they say helps celebrate Italian Americans and immigrants as a whole.
“Did Native Americans suffer, Indigenous people suffer? Absolutely. Should they be recognized and their [stories] be recognized? Absolutely. But at the same time, that doesn’t take away from what Columbus did, what Italians did and what all immigrants did to create the greatest nation on earth,” said John Calvelli, executive vice chair of the NIAF.
Those like Danforth, who is Oneida Nation herself, use Indigenous Peoples Day to highlight the positives of Native American culture.
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