Commissioners adopt Indigenous Peoples Day


Indigenous Peoples Day will from now on be recognized in Pipestone County on the second Monday of October, in addition to the already-recognized federal Columbus Day holiday.
Pipestone County Commissioners during their March 13 meeting unanimously approved a resolution recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day as the federally recognized Columbus Day. The resolution recognizes the “occupation of Indigenous homelands for the building of our country” and that “Indigenous Nations have lived upon this land since time immemorial.”
It also recognizes the societal contributions of American Indians and the importance of closing the equity gap, and encourages change in policies to those contributions as well as their indigenous roots and history.
Dan Wildermuth, Pipestone County Board chair, motioned to add language to the resolution that would clarify that the county recognizes both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day, but the motion died for lack of a second. Other board members said they felt the resolution already made that clear.
Eugene Strong, the man who requested back in January that the county recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, acknowledged that Columbus Day will remain a federally recognized holiday until the federal government “will decide that they are going to look at history in a factual way.” He said county recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day is a step in the right direction.
“By us recognizing it here in the heart of the native people, I truly believe that it will help to restore some dignity to the people, especially to the children,” Strong said.
He said people he’d spoken to favored the term Indigenous Peoples Day over Native American Day because anyone born in America could be considered a Native American. Indigenous Peoples Day, he said, is meant to acknowledge that the indigenous people of the continent “have been the product of a horrible genocide” and it is intended to help restore their culture.
“We’re not better than anyone else, but we’re still people and that’s what we have to be recognized as — as people — and no longer as the heathens and savages that we’ve always seen in the history books,” Strong said.
He commended the county board on its willingness to listen to him and grant his request.
“You guys are so open-minded and you’re so friendly and I appreciate that so much,” he said.