SERIES | Honoring the Spirit of Resistance This Indigenous Peoples’ Day

For decades Indigenous people and allies have organized to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Christopher Columbus was a murderer whose “voyages” condoned rape and child sex slavery and is also credited with starting the transatlantic slave trade.

Since 2021, President Joe Biden has made proclamations about Indigenous Peoples’ Day, not in place of Columbus Day, but on the same day as Columbus Day, the second Monday in October. The political posturing of a national holiday intended to “celebrate” Indigenous people while also “celebrating” a man who raped, murdered, and violently colonized Indigenous lands is abhorrent.

Similar to land acknowledgments by institutions that continue to benefit from the impact of colonization and make no effort to learn about how they can build relationships and give land back to the Native people whose stolen land they occupy.

Local Indigenous leaders would not be pacified. Prior to the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Seattle, Indigenous organizers led marches and protests in downtown Seattle on Columbus Day from 2009 to 2014. In 2024, the Seattle City Council finally voted to legally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a city holiday in 2022.

Because of the work of Indigenous leaders and organizers, Indigenous youth in our region see themselves and their cultures being honored, instead of a colonizer who perpetuated the genocide of their ancestors being celebrated. They are able to participate in events that uplift Indigenous joy, resistance and the living cultures of the varied Indigenous peoples and cultures in our region.

Some of these events include:

Start your day along Pier 62 Waterfront Park at 9:30 a.m. where the City of Seattle Native Employees (CANOES) and Friends of the Waterfront are kicking off a series of celebrations in honor of the 10-year anniversary of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Seattle. This free community event includes free breakfast, song, dance, and poetry followed by a celebratory march along the Seattle waterfront to King Street Station Plaza for additional programming where a free lunch is also provided through 1:30 p.m.

Stay at King Street Station Plaza for the Indigenous Peoples’ Day march which starts at 1:30 p.m. and heads to Westlake Park for a round dance for peace. The celebratory march will be led by Sacred Water Canoe Family and the Owaste Lakota Singers and Drummers. The organizers ask that Indigenous people in attendance wear your regalia, bring your drums.

There will be speakers on the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples, Every Child Matters, Youth Speakers from the Palestinian Youth Movement, and the Jafra Dabke Palestinian dancers, followed by a Round Dance for World Peace, led by the Owaste Lakota Singers and Drummers.

Landback to the Duwamish Tribe is an event happening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Heron’s Nest in West Seattle. For all of us Native and non-Native who want to be of service and give back to Coast Salish communities, you can volunteer and honor the rematriation of this land to its Indigenous peoples.

When you’re done at the Heron’s Nest, head over to Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center! United Indians of All Tribes Foundation planned bingo, food, music, and more from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This event is one of several that are part of a Seattle citywide Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration.

Another evening event option is an Indigenous Peoples’ Day community healing event organized by Ancestral Sisterhood happening from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Washington Hall in Central Seattle. The event will include dinner and family-friendly activities. People are encouraged to wear their regalia and ribbon skirts, orange to honor the children from residential schools, or red for our missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. People are encouraged to bring offerings for the ancestral altar.

There’s plenty happening outside the City of Seattle too. Highline College in Des Moines is hosting a free Indigenous Peoples’ Day event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with speakers from Coast Salish tribal communities.

From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. join the Squaxin Island Tribe and the City of Olympia for cultural performances, speakers, and food. The City of Olympia is offering complimentary event shuttle service from the east side of the Olympia Farmers Market parking lot every 30 minutes since parking is limited.

Lummi Nation’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day event is about healing and unity. Join Lummi Nation for a salmon dinner and peruse Indigenous vendors and artists until 6 p.m. when Blackhawk Singers start the opening ceremony. Lummi Nation student leaders will speak, and a performance by Ta’Kaiya Blaney, a singer, award-winning actress, speaker, and environmental activist from the Tla’amin Nation in British Columbia.

The Saturday following Indigenous Peoples’ Day is the 28th Annual SpiritWalk & Warrior Run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. You can register for a 5K trail run, or a free, accessible 2K walk, or come as a spectator and stay for the food, entertainment, and more. Proceeds from the run support Seattle Indian Health Board.

While Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, in our region Indigenous Peoples’ Day continues to eclipse the historical fallacy of Columbus’ claimed “discovery.” Our voices are loud and we are proud of the generations of Indigenous resistance that our survival was dependent on. 

However Indigenous people carry that spirit of resistance with them is their choice and should be honored. Whether Indigenous people are organizing a run, stewarding their land, marching in protest, or working to decolonize in other ways that agitate the occupying government, Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

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