Bluestem Prairie looked at Morrison County Record publisher Tom West complaining about the decision of the Minneapolis City Council to rename Columbus Day "Indigenous People's Day" in Not South Dakota too? Angry white guy completely offended by Mpls' "Indigenous Peoples Day."
We may have found a column to top that Onion-esque explanation in this week's McLeod County Chronicle. Editor Rich Glennie writes in Indigenous People’s Day; what’s that mean?:
But it could be worse. This could be Canada where Indians or Native Americans or Inuits, or whoever had first claims on the land, are now called First Nations.
How about First Nations People’s Day instead of Columbus Day?
How about we just leave things well enough alone, call off Columbus Day altogether and just call it the second Monday of October like the calendar states.
Since he wants to leave things alone, it's not uncouth of Bluestem to point out that Canada is a little different from the United States, and doesn't observe the same holidays, regardless of the self-confidence white privilege affords Glennie in asserting the contrary.
First, many Canadians celebrate National Aboriginal Day on June 21, as "part of a series of Celebrate Canada days, beginning with National Aboriginal Day and followed by the National Holiday of Quebec on June 24, Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27, and concluding with Canada Day on July 1." The first National Aboriginal Day, which celebrates "the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples," took place in 1996.
And that day in October? In Canada, it's Thanksgiving.
In 2013, the Washington Post's Max Fisher reported in Uncomfortable with Columbus Day? Celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving instead:
If you feel uncomfortable celebrating a guy who did terrible things to native people in the new world, particularly given that Columbus's arrival preceded even more terrible things done to native Americans and that the United States has yet to fully confront that ugly legacy, then look to the north. Look to Canada!
Canada is one of the few countries here in the western hemisphere that does not celebrate any version of Columbus Day. Canadians are marking a holiday today, but it's a different one: Canadian Thanksgiving. Or, as it's known in Canada, Thanksgiving. . .
Yes, like Columbus Day, both Thanksgivings are still a bit awkward for their unstated connection to the destruction of native communities that came as a result of the colonization celebrated by the holiday. But at least they acknowledge those native Americans and attempt to incorporate them somewhat into the holiday. And, unlike Columbus Day, Canadian Thanksgiving has lots of great traditions, many of which involve food. . . .
Photo: Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day.
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