Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day

Since time immemorial, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians have built vibrant and diverse cultures — safeguarding land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition across the generations. 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.

Our country was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity for all people — a promise that, despite the extraordinary progress we have made through the years, we have never fully lived up to. That is especially true when it comes to upholding the rights and dignity of the Indigenous people who were here long before colonization of the Americas began. For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society. We also recommit to supporting a new, brighter future of promise and equity for Tribal Nations — a future grounded in Tribal sovereignty and respect for the human rights of Indigenous people in the Americas and around the world. (From "A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples' Day")

Want to learn and UNlearn more?! (From the National Museum of the American Indian)

• Learn about how European contact resulted in devastating loss of life, disruption of tradition, and enormous loss of lands for Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. It is estimated that in the 130 years following first contact, Native America lost 95 percent of its population.

• Taíno Peoples continue to live in Puerto Rico and other parts of the U.S. Read the article Taíno Survival: Back into History in American Indian Magazine.

• Read the article From the Shadows of History: Taíno at the Vatican in American Indian Magazine.

• Learn more about Indigenous Peoples' Day in the article Indigenous Peoples' Day: Rethinking How We Celebrate American History in Smithsonian Magazine.

• Read about the continuance of Taíno life in the article This Culture, Once Believed Extinct, Is Flourishing in Smithsonian Magazine.

• Explore the NMAI's Mesoamerican and Caribbean collections in the Infinity of Nations website.

More learning (and UNlearning) resources:

• Un-Columbus Day (Teaching Channel)

• 9 Teaching Resources That Tell the Truth About Columbus (Indian Country Today)

• Here’s what Indigenous Peoples' Day means to Native Americans (NPR)

• Book to read: Rethinking Columbus