The Los Angeles Public Library will be closed for Monday, October 9, 2017 in observance of Indigenous Peoples Day. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles City Council voted on August 30, 2017 to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day and Italian Americans weren’t happy about losing a day of remembrance for their hero, Christopher Columbus. Also according to Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on October 3, 2017 to make the second Monday in the month of October Indigenous Peoples Day no later than 2019 and makes October 12th Italian American Heritage Day.
We all know that Native American history is treated as a footnote in United States history texts. We can blame the educational system for providing textbooks to us that erases Native Americans from our collective memoires. However, we, voters, are ultimately to blame. Nothing corrupt, unjust, or unequal in our society exists without majority consent. The United States is supposedly a democracy. Majority’s votes and campaign money will beat natives and slaves in every political contest. The majority chooses all government officials at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Those elected officials establish educational policies. Those educational policies exclude, reduce, or subordinate Native American history by majority consent. We, the non-native majority, vote for our educational system to be the way that it is. If we don’t like the way the educational system is, then we need to change the way we vote. We need to choose different candidates. We gave consent to elected government officials to subordinate Native Americans in our history books. Therefore, we can use our votes, petitions, and campaign donations to choose totally different public officials, who will include Native Americans into our textbooks.
According to a website by the Library of Congress, November is Native American Heritage Month. You can find a link to it below. Last year, I reviewed a Native American cookbook. You will find a link to that review below as well. The Thanksgiving season is coming soon. Those of us, who cook well, can borrow Native Americans cookbooks from your local libraries and become the first among your family, friends, and co-workers to incorporate Native American cuisine into your diets and culture.
Like myself, you may have had other reading plans today, this month, or even next month. For most other governments within the United States, Christopher Columbus Day is celebrated today. However, we are bibliophiles. We love the library. Let’s take control of our own education and make an effort to read at least one book, written from a Native American perspective, between now and the end of November. If you have a very busy schedule, you may consider getting an e-audiobook or a documentary on DVD about Native Americans from your local library.
References
Agrawal, Nina. “Indigenous Peoples Day to replace Columbus Day in L.A. County.” Los Angeles Times. Published 3 October 2017. Website: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-indigenous-peoples-day-20171003-story.html. Accessed 9 October 2017.
Zahniser, David. “L.A. City Council replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on city calendar.” Los Angeles Times. Published 30 August 2017. Website: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-indigenous-peoples-day-20170829-story.html. Accessed 9 October 2017.
Links:
Indian Country Today: Native Americans Expose the Adoption Era and Repair Its Devastation
Land of Books and Honey’s Book Review: Native New England Cooking
List of Native American languages
Native American Heritage Month
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