Indigenous Peoples Day events are planned to focus on the Native American community

MILLCREEK — As they planned the first Indigenous Peoples Day event in Millcreek, scheduled for Monday, local officials wanted to shine a spotlight on the first people to inhabit the state.

“We believe that Indigenous people are a staple in Utah and important to Utah’s history, and we want to highlight that,” said Rachel Nasse, community life events manager for the city. She said the Goshute, Ute and Shoshone people first inhabited the area that is now Millcreek.

In fact, it was a conscious decision by Millcreek officials to focus next Monday’s activities – Columbus Day under U.S. Code – on the indigenous population rather than on Christoper Columbus, the Italian explorer and namesake of Columbus Day. Columbus Day, Nasse said, “belongs to Indigenous peoples and should be celebrated as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”

Whether the second Monday in October should be recognized as Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day has been the subject of heated debate in the United States for years. The United States Code calls it Columbus Day and defines the 11 annual federal holidays. But Native Americans and their advocates are increasingly claiming the day as Indigenous Peoples Day to ward off the violence and displacement faced by Native American peoples after Columbus landed on October 12, 1492 in what was then known as the United States “Indigenous Peoples Day” was called New World.

Columbus’ arrival on a Caribbean island in 1492 sparked later forays into the Western Hemisphere by European explorers, “who began the slave trade and the exploitation of indigenous populations,” said Carl Moore. Moore, head of a Native American advocacy group called PANDOS, is helping organize the Millcreek event.

The Salt Lake City City Council passed a resolution declaring October 14th of this year as Indigenous Peoples Day, just as it has in recent years. At the same time, some events focused on the Native American community are planned in the region:

• Although not an Indigenous Peoples Day event, the University of Utah Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City is hosting an Indigenous Art Market on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is included with purchase. You will receive a ticket to the museum and activities also include local dances and musical performances.
• The Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake is hosting the Indigenous Peoples Day 5K run/walk on Saturday in Draper, but registration is closed. “We will honor this day by gathering with relatives to celebrate and promote Indigenous history and culture through walking, jogging and running,” reads a blurb for the event.
• Brigham Young University’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures in Provo is hosting an event called “Tribe of Many Feathers” on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Featuring Native American dances, crafts, food and more.
• The City of Millcreek will host its first-ever Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in front of the Millcreek Commons facility at 1354 E. Chambers Ave. on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Millcreek. The free event will feature Native American drumming and dancers, as well as free Navajo tacos.

While debate rages among some over whether the second Monday in October should be Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, Moore, who is of Native American and European descent, is on the side of calling it “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Columbus Day was originally touted by U.S. officials as the “Day of the Discovery of America,” and Moore calls that characterization “misinformation” because the area was already inhabited by native peoples.

“It erases the people who were here before him,” Moore said. If it is Columbus “who discovered America,” then that means we are not valid people.

Last year, President Joe Biden took a middle-of-the-road approach, declaring October 9, 2023, Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day in separate proclamations.

Biden’s Indigenous Peoples Day proclamation is intended to “show our gratitude for the countless contributions Native Americans have made to our world and renew our commitment to respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”

Biden’s Columbus Day proclamation does not mention the “discovery” of America, but rather recognizes the contributions of Columbus and Italian Americans. The designation of Columbus Day is intended to “celebrate the legacy of Italian Americans, whose hands helped build our nation and whose hearts have always carried faith in the American dream.”