About 50 UNM students from diverse backgrounds turned out Monday to show their support for Indigenous Day.
Since 1934, the second Monday of October has been a federal holiday: Columbus Day. The Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group celebrated the sixth-annual Indigenous Day at UNM — instead of Columbus Day — with activities such as a Sunrise Ceremony and an Indigenous Day Declaration.
At the Indigenous Day Declaration, NASIRG presented a petition calling for the official recognition of Indigenous Day, a celebration of the indigenous people present in the Americas before Columbus landed in 1492.
Wyndsor Yazzie, NASIRG co-chair, said the group will give President David Schmidly the petition with student signatures and ask for UNM’s support.
The petition has at least 60 signatures, Yazzie said.
Jozi DeLeon, vice president of equity and inclusion, said she will encourage other UNM administrators to support Indigenous Day.
“I’m going to be working very closely with the administration to see what we can do to formally make Indigenous Day happen,” DeLeon said. “I think it would set a great example in this state because of our Native population.”
Beverly Singer, acting director of Native American studies, spoke to students and community members at the Indigenous Day Declaration in the SUB atrium. She said Columbus symbolizes the discovery of America, but that needs to change.
“This land — this homeland that belongs to all of us — is a place that holds such promise, wealth and knowledge,” Singer said. “I truly believe in my heart that one of these days, our University will embrace that knowledge as well and add to the serving of what we offer here.”
Yazzie said Columbus Day doesn’t accurately represent the history of America, since indigenous people lived in the Americas before Columbus arrived.
“Indigenous Day really acknowledges all the actual history of the ‘discovery of the New World,’” Yazzie said. “The mythology of Christopher Columbus discovering America and the histories that have been told about it always exclude the Native point of view. Acknowledging the indigenous people and saying that their voice counts is a big deal.”
Yazzie said NASIRG wants recognition of Indigenous Day at the state level by this time next year. He said the group is working with the chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council and the secretary of Indian affairs to achieve this goal.
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“We try to get out as much information as we can,” Yazzie said. “By putting this event together and other events throughout the year here on campus, we try to educate the student population and the surrounding communities about a lot of the issues that we face — political or social issues.”
DeLeon said she attended the Indigenous Day Declaration and fully supports the holiday and the history behind it.
“I told the students that I thought it was really the right idea to declare the celebration of Columbus Day as the celebration of Indigenous Day instead,” DeLeon said. “I think celebrating Columbus Day just doesn’t make sense, given the fact that American Indians have existed in this country long before Columbus ever landed on the shores of what is now the United States.”
Singer said UNM is the perfect place to celebrate and raise support for Indigenous Day, because of the diverse students, staff and faculty.
DeLeon said the University will probably support Indigenous Day, but she hasn’t formally talked with other administrators about it yet.
“I cannot imagine that the University would not be supportive, given their stance on diversity and the University’s very deliberate efforts to support a diverse student population, especially our Native American population,” she said.
