Alt text: Brown and tan leaves behind Indigenous Peoples' Day October 10, 2022
October 10th, 2022 is Indigenous Peoples’ day. Indigenous peoples’ day being celebrated is an important move away from celebrating an inaccurate view of American history that recognized and honored the colonizer, Christopher Columbus. Last year, President Biden recognized October 11th, 2021 as Indigenous Peoples’ day and he was the first president to do so. While this was an important step forward, Indigenous Peoples’ day has yet to be recognized as a federal holiday so there is still work to be done. However, New Mexico has replaced Columbus day with Indigenous Peoples’ day since 2019.
New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized sovereign Nations comprising of 19 Pueblos, 3 Apache tribes, and the Navajo (Diné) Nation. This is in addition to American Indians/Alaska Natives who may be considered urban American Indians/Alaska Natives because they live in a city, like Albuquerque.
We are also pleased to highlight and revisit a post from the 2021 Indigenous Peoples’ Day, wherein guest author Nancy Agin Dunnahoe (Choctaw, Cherokee, Guatemalteca) wrote about the frequently misunderstood two-spirit identity. Please visit our Indigenous Health Information in New Mexico resource guide to learn more about respectful research; resources for researching; creating and effective search; and evaluating resources. Visit our Native Health Database and search for health resources focused on historic and contemporary Indigenous health issues.
Ways to celebrate:
Lakota Nation vs. The United States will be showing at 7:00 PM at the Kimo Theater.
The town of Santa Fe, New Mexico will be hosting a weekend celebration from October 8th to October 10th.
An Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration will take place at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, October 10th from 9-4.
The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe is hosting a live stream and live art event, Shatter that will be “a cathartic destruction and literal shattering of the racist stereotypes that have, for centuries, violated the rights, sacrality and complexities of Indigenous cultural identity" on October 10th at 4 PM.