Indigenous Peoples’ Day was created in part to rightfully rebrand the now-defunct Columbus Day recognition, and instead to acknowledge the pain and suffering of our Native American brothers and sisters, but also to celebrate their history, culture, and established residence in the United States as independent nations. Before many of our diverse urban communities in the United States began experiencing gentrification, our Native brothers and sisters experienced a much worst fate called colonization. Further, Indigenous peoples of America were lied to in treaties that were not kept, held back from vital resources, such as schools and hospitals, and their lands resemble third-world countries rather than vibrant, natural resourced areas.
AFGE Council 100 stands with our Native American brothers and sisters in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and in the continental United States, now and always. President Biden has taken positive steps by annually proclaiming Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, while also increasing the amount of funding provided to these nations. We call on the U.S. Congress to denounce Columbus Day and replace it, once and for all, in accordance with the recently introduced legislation, The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act. Our Native nations have provided us with extensive agricultural knowledge, cultural vibrancy, and wisdom that exceeds thousands of years, passed on through generations of storytelling, educational enrichment, and practice.
Today, and every day, we acknowledge, celebrate, and revere—and will fight for—those who established our nation before we were a nation; and before we were able to care for, cultivate, and ascend to become the greatest nation in the world. We must remember that it was not for our great prowess, wisdom, or abilities alone, but for all we were taught, all we learned, and all we were shown by the Indigenous peoples in the early days of our unfounded nation. We thank our original founding fathers and mothers, of the then-unnamed United States, the Indigenous people. Our predecessors. Our brothers and sisters.
In Unity,
AFGE Council 100
Hydrick Thomas, President | Mac Johnson, Council Executive Vice President | Johnny Jones, Council Secretary-Treasurer | Thomas Schoregge, Region 1 V.P. | John Hubert, Region 2 V.P. | Janis Casey, Region 3 V.P. | Becky Mancha, Region 4 V.P. | Greg Biel, Region 5 V.P. | Bobby Orozco Jr., Region 6 V.P. | Joe Shuker, Region 7 V.P. | Victor Payes Martinez, Fair Practices Coordinator | Concetta Fialkowski, Women’s Coordinator