In 2015, the City of Portland joined several other U.S. cities in formally recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Earlier this year the Oregon Legislature passed a bill that now recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day statewide. The bill, brought forth by the legislature’s only Indigenous lawmakers, Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, and Rep. Teresa Alonso-Leon, D-Woodburn, aims to recognize the significant contributions that Native Americans have made to the U.S., and in particular the contributions of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes to the state.
While Indigenous People’s Day only recently became recognized as an official holiday in Oregon, it was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the United Nations. Oregon is the 11th state in the U.S. to recognize the day.
According to Illuminative, a national, Native-led nonprofit committed to amplifying contemporary Native voices, “Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day is an important part of our movement— it is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate Native peoples, our resiliency and our future, in the present.”
On Monday, October 11, CCC joins the nationwide movement to celebrate, acknowledge and honor the contributions, histories and cultures of American Indian, Alaska Native and Indigenous communities. This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we hope you’ll celebrate by educating yourself, attending an in-person or virtual events or supporting a Native-led organization or Native-owned business.
