Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day:

A holiday on the second Monday of October

To recognize and to honor and to celebrate this culture

whose Peoples triumphed over broken promises and broken treaties,

over land grabs and relocations to reservations,

over forcing children to attend boarding schools

where their way of life faced extermination.

In a land where these First Peoples,

witnesses in 1492 to the arrival of Columbus,

were granted U.S. citizenship in 1924.

Open the window to a new perspective.

Ask questions.

Who was Maria Tallchief?

Why were the Navajo Code Talkers essential to US efforts in WWII?

Why is Jim Thorpe famous?

How did Wilma Mankiller make history?

What is Deb Haaland’s historic “first”?

Consider literature by Native American authors.

Any book by Louise Erdrich. The Night Watchman, most recently.

There There by Tommy Orange. City life in Oakland.

Poetry collections by Joy Harjo, the first Native American poet laureate.

Joseph Bruchac. Picture books.

Worth a look!! The American Indian Library Association (AILA)/ ailanet.org:

American Indian Youth Literature Award to “The Best” writing and illustrating by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Authenticity.

NOTE: nationaltoday.com

“INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY – OCTOBER 11, 2021”

An excellent ‘first look” at the holiday without being overwhelming.  This Introduction could easily develop into an investigation of noteworthy contributions by Indigenous Peoples

throughout the school year.