{"id":18587,"date":"2026-02-04T10:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/?p=18587"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:44:26","slug":"indigenous-peoples-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/indigenous-peoples-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


(Pictured: A Coast Salish<\/a> canoe, image<\/a> by Wikimedia Commons user Amateria1121<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Wikipedia, Indigenous Peoples’ Day<\/a> “is a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. … It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. … Indigenous People\u2019s Day was instituted in Berkeley, California, in 1992, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Two years later, Santa Cruz, California, instituted the holiday. Starting in 2014, many other cities and states adopted the holiday.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Indigenous Peoples’ Day replacing Columbus Day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Professor Susan C. Faircloth explains<\/a> for the website The Conversation<\/a> that “For many Indigenous peoples … Columbus is viewed not as a discoverer, but rather as a colonizer. His arrival led to the forceful taking of land and set the stage for widespread death and loss of Indigenous ways of life. … Indigenous Peoples Day offers an opportunity for educators to rethink how they teach what some have characterized as a ‘sanitized’ story of the arrival of Columbus.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Celebrate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lummi Nation School event<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(Re-posted from the Intercultural Office)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WCC Intercultural Services Department and the Office of Student Life & Development, in partnership with the Community Consortium for Cultural Recognition (CCCR) invite you to join several local organizations in celebrating Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day from 5 \u2013 8 p.m. on October 14, 2024<\/strong> at the Lummi Nation School<\/strong>. The event will include a community dinner; Indigenous artists, vendors, and speakers; and song, dance and ceremony by local Indigenous leaders.

The program centers the leadership and knowledge young Indigenous people bring forward to address today\u2019s pressing issues. Attendees will hear from keynote speaker, the powerful Ta’Kaiya Blaney<\/a>, who is a singer, award-winning actress, speaker, and environmental activist from the Tla A’min Nation in British Columbia. Lummi Nation School youth leaders will also share in a panel discussion.
 
The event begins with a salmon dinner, free for all attendees, and the chance to visit booths featuring the work of Indigenous artists and non-profit organizations. The Blackhawk Singers will open and close the event with ceremonial song and dance.  
 
With a theme of \u201cOne People\u201d, this Indigenous People\u2019s Day celebration is an opportunity for non-Indigenous and Indigenous community members to gather together in healing and unity and reflect on a commitment to shared humanity and values of gratitude, generosity and respect in a divided world.

For additional information regarding the event, please visit: wwu.edu\/ipd<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shuttle rides from WCC to Lummi Nation School<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We will be offering shuttle rides to and from the event, on a first come, first served basis. Space is limited so please encourage people to sign up ASAP at the following link: IPD Event Shuttle Sign-up Form<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the event sponsors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This event is sponsored by the Community Consortium for Cultural Recognition (CCCR), a partnership comprising an array of local organizations: Bellingham Public Library, Bellingham Public Schools, Bellingham Technical College, City of Bellingham, Northwest Indian College, PeaceHealth, Western Washington University, and Whatcom Community College. Children of the Setting Sun Productions, Bellingham SeaFeast, Alaska Gold Seafood, Whatcom Intergenerational High School, and Affiliated Tribes of NW Washington have joined the Consortium in sponsoring this event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re interested in finding more about the history of Indigenous people or Indigenous writers to read, don’t hesitate to contact the library<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Pictured: A Coast Salish canoe, image by Wikimedia Commons user Amateria1121) What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day? According to Wikipedia, Indigenous Peoples’ Day “is a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. … It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[506],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18587"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19231,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions\/19231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/librarywp.whatcom.edu\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}