The second Monday in October in the United States was officially made Columbus Day by President Richard Nixon in 1972 in order to commemorate the voyage of Christopher Columbus and his landing in the Taino people's lands, islands that are now referred to as the Caribbean. In 1992 a Quincentennial celebration marking the 500-year anniversary of Columbus's 1492 expedition was observed by the United States and Spain. Billions of dollars were spent by both countries. The photograph at right is of Taino Indigenous women.
To Native American communities and nations throughout the Americas, the 500-year celebration was a deeply concerning matter. It seemed that no one had ever learned their history, or cared, that the voyage of Columbus opened a widespread genocide from the most northern reaches of Canada to the tip of South America: tens of millions of Indigenous peoples were kidnapped and sold into slavery, sex trafficked, militarily slaughtered, and died by the transmission of European disease. This outright carnage was explicitly endorsed in the religious Doctrine of Discovery, a Papal rule of law, written in 1452 by Pope Nicholas V. The Romanus Pontifex, as it was called, declared war against all non-Christians throughout the world and directed King Alfonso of Portugal to
...-
Thanks for this great story; raising our kids in Point Arena we always made a point of noting this holiday as "Indigenous People's
Not many Americans may feel much like celebrating the hallmarks of our country--liberty, justice, and freedom--this July 4th as we watch the shocking horrors experienced by asylum-seekers on our Mexican border, among other national tragedies. For many of us, the shame of what is happening is deep. Despite our protests, petition-signing, contacting our elected officials, political canvassing for the 2018 elections, monetary donations, and speaking-out in print and social media, we can still feel powerless to halt what is occurring. Whenever I feel a deeper level of outrage and frustration about government-policy attacks on people and Earth, however, I think of the tenacity of Indigenous Elders, particularly Native American women. Whenever I lapse into being shocked about today's news headlines, I only need to quickly remind myself of our American past and the treatment of Indigenous peoples, and how the events of today are merely another unfolding of what has been going on in this country since its birth. I am disturbed with America's interminable short-term-memory loop as I hear in the media connections between Japanese Internment camps during WWII and the immigrant detainment centers of today. So let me help you remember, America, about our country's history in relation to Native Americans, and how the detainment centers are just America's newest colonial-era Forts. I also want to remind those of us who are bone-weary (and afraid) about what is happening in our country to take the long-view, as the First Nations of Turtle Island do when they, too, are face to face with inhumane treatment. These Elders are our guides for Perseverance, Strategy, and an unshakeable Belief in the power of LOVE. The image above is a work of art in pastels by New Mexican artist Bill Baker. Find more of his work at 
First of all, many of the people crossing the border from Mexico into the United States to seek asylum and a better life are Indios, Indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America. For Native Americans living on sovereign tribal lands that the U.S./ Mexican border cuts through, the hassle to visit relatives, collect plant medicines, and ritually perform ceremonies as they have done for centuries is high. Border patrol officers rifle through medicine bundles, bags of sacred plants and objects, and can be extremely callous toward Indigenous Medicine People--even when those people have the legal right to move freely through their own sovereign lands. These border crossing impediments have been going on since the border was created, but over the years more citizens of Native nations have gained legal rights to cross unimpeded. This is a fight that is not included in any news coverage about the immigrants.
An antidote to the frustrations of current politics, environmental degradation, and the struggles in our own individual and collective human lives--that can include sheer exhaustion from fighting and emotionally processing these forms of oppression--is music. Singing, and especially dancing, uplifts the human spirit and renews us in ways that few other experiences can. When songs are specifically written to address the very struggles we are engaged in, and remind us that we struggle together toward similar goals of social equity, global community and peace, and economic stability for all, it can downright uplift our resolve to get back in the fight, our vigor shining!
This is what Indigenous-Canadian of the Cree nation, Buffy Sainte-Marie, has been doing for the past 50 years! St. Marie became well-known for her activist peace song "Universal Soldier" in 1964 and was a headline act at many national venues in the 1960s. Her song, “Until It’s Time For You Go” has been covered widely, including by such greats as Elvis Presley, Cher, Roberta Flack and Glen Campbell. She had a million-selling theme song from the western, Soldier Blue, and in 1982, she won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a British Academy Film Award for Best Original Song for the theme song from the film An Officer And a Gentlemen, called “Up Where We Belong” that was sung by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. St. Marie also had a stint on Sesame Street in the 1970s and she continued appearing on that iconic American children's show into the 1980s. In 2015, she won a prestigious Polaris Music Prize for Album of the Year for Power in the Blood.
Considering the shocking events of the past months in the United States, particularly in relation to the Earth, I believe we need to talk about Mother Earth's laws versus the practices of Empire. They are radically different. Mother Earth's Laws are Life-centered and honor all people and all life on Earth; Empire is death-centered, favors a narrow demographic of people, and believes the Earth should be plundered for her resources for individual gain. Empire exalts social Darwinism and believes "those who have are those who deserve"; to the contrary, Mother Earth's Laws function from the reality that everyone here deserves to have their needs completely met and everyone matters. The highly-evolved, sophisticated cultures of Native Americans historically and currently function at every level of engagement (governmental, socioeconomically, and in gender practices) in ways that reflect and honor the inherent laws of this planet, Mother Earth's Laws. These Laws come from a profound and ancient relationship to the Earth. There is no "food chain" that functions from a belief in human exceptionalism, no hierarchy that allows humans to take and all other beings and elements expected to give. There is no one-way "Giving Tree" relationship (like Shel Silverstein's book), where human beings constantly take and Mother Earth gives, to the ultimate sacrifice of her very life.That's Empire.
Hello Relatives! I'm so glad you could come with me this evening and travel to a gathering to hear a traditional Indigenous Grandma's storytelling! Historically, in most Indigenous nations of the Americas, the colder months meant the work is mostly over and the celebrations begin in order to see the people through the long, dark months. Even though we now have modern conveniences, traditional people still keep the cycles of the year of their ancestors and practice their traditions just as they have always done. Ah, I see you have the gift I suggested you bring Grandma in order to honor her and her nation's traditions--thank you! That beautiful blanket you brought will be put to good use for whomever in her community needs one.
