US President Joe Biden on Friday issued the first presidential proclamation on Indigenous Peoples Day, giving his biggest support yet to efforts to shift the federal holiday honoring Christopher Columbus to honoring Native Americans.
The day will be celebrated on October 11, along with Columbus Day, which is a holiday established by Congress. Although Native Americans have been campaigning for years to introduce local and national days to recognize Native Americans, Biden's announcement apparently surprised many, writes Voice of America.
"This is completely unexpected, even though it's been talked about for a long time and we've wanted it for a long time," says Hilary Kempenik, a Native American artist on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota.
Two years ago, she and other tribal members successfully campaigned to have her town of Grand Forks, North Dakota, replace Columbus Day with a holiday honoring Native Americans.
"I'm thrilled," said Kempenik, who couldn't wait to break the news to her daughter, an eighth-grader who grew up arguing with her teachers about Columbus.
For generations, federal policy has systematically attempted to assimilate and displace Native Americans and eradicate their culture," Biden wrote in a Native American Day proclamation. "Today, we honor the perseverance and strength of Native Americans and the immeasurably positive impact they have had on every aspect of American society ."
In a separate Columbus Day proclamation, Biden praised the role and contribution of Italian Americans to society, but also mentioned the violence and damage Columbus and other explorers inflicted on North and South America at the time.
Setting foot on the ground of today's Bahamas, on October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian, was the first in a wave of European explorers who led to the decimation of the indigenous population of the American continent, in search of gold and other riches, as well as slaves.
"Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongdoing and atrocities that many European explorers brought to tribal nations and indigenous communities," Biden wrote.
"We show the greatness of our nation by not trying to hide these shameful episodes of our past, by facing them honestly, bringing them to light, and doing everything we can to consider them."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden "strongly believes" in establishing Native American Day. When asked if Biden would try to end the observance of Columbus Day as a federal holiday, she said that at this point "she can't predict that."
John Ecohok, executive director of the American Indian Rights Fund, said the president's decision to recognize Native American Day is an important step.
"Big changes happen after every small step, and we hope that this administration intends to take positive steps towards a better future for all its citizens," Ekohok said.
Biden's acknowledgment of the suffering endured by Native Americans also marks a break with the staunch defense of "fearless heroes," as Republican President Donald Trump described Columbus in his 2020 holiday proclamation.
"Unfortunately, in recent years, radical activists have been trying to undermine the legacy of Christopher Columbus," Trump said at the time.
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