{"id":42221,"date":"2024-10-22T00:21:31","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T04:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=42221"},"modified":"2024-10-22T10:20:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T14:20:58","slug":"cronkite-news-community-comes-together-for-indigenous-peoples-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/10\/22\/cronkite-news-community-comes-together-for-indigenous-peoples-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Community comes together for Indigenous Peoples Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Indigenous<\/a>
Vending space featuring works by Hyosik Creations at the Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day Phoenix Fest in downtown Phoenix on October 14, 2024. Photo by Danielle Baker \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
\u2018We\u2019re still here to stay\u2019: Indigenous Peoples Day festival gives Arizona Native communities visibility<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, October 22, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Marshall Baker<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

PHOENIX, Arizona \u201cIndigenous Peoples Day is a day to embrace all Indigenous people everywhere,\u201d said Deeanna Talley, who goes by Nanibaah. She is the lead singer for Earth Surface People<\/a>, an Indigenous music collective in Arizona. Her group headlined the mainstage for Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day Phoenix Fest in downtown Phoenix, a festival celebrating Native culture and artists in and around the Phoenix area.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor me, I love it. It means so much to me,\u201d Talley said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t limit anyone to a country, to a tribe, whether you\u2019re half Native or mixed. \u2026 It\u2019s to embrace every single person from every walk of life, that\u2019s still here as a result of genocide.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \"Indigenous<\/a>

Candles and Shoap LLC, a vendor at the Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day Phoenix Fest in downtown Phoenix on October 14, 2024. Photo by Danielle Baker \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>

<\/p>\r\n

Indigenous Peoples Day has been established in a growing number of communities as a means of celebrating people and culture but also to reclaim Columbus Day.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIn 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue\u201d is a poem many people who grew up in the United States learned. The second Monday of October is federally recognized as Columbus Day, a holiday commemorating the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus into the Americas in 1492.<\/p>\r\n

It was first celebrated as a holiday in 1891, in a time where prejudice against Italian Americans was prevalent. However it is controversial among Indigenous communities across the country because Columbus serves as the symbol of the arrival of European colonization and genocide in North and South America. Columbus also perpetuated harm against the Indigenous people he encountered, enslaving and exploiting inhabitants of the present-day Bahamas.<\/p>\r\n

In 2021, Joe Biden became the first president to issue a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day. \u201cFor generations, federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples\u2019 resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society. We also recommit to supporting a new, brighter future of promise and equity for Tribal Nations,\u201d Biden said in a news release. Biden would issue a separate proclamation for Columbus Day, praising the role of Italian Americans in U.S. history.<\/p>\r\n \"Indigenous<\/a>

A poster in downtown Phoenix highlighting the Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day Phoenix Fest in downtown Phoenix on October 14, 2024. Photo by Danielle Baker \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

As of 2023, approximately 216 cities and 29 states had renamed or replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, according to RenameColumbusDay.org<\/a>. Phoenix officially recognized the holiday in 2023, when the City Council voted to designate the second Monday of October as a city holiday.<\/p>\r\n

The Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day Phoenix Fest was organized by Cahokia PHX, a female-owned, Indigenous-led social tech and artspace focused on empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs and artists in the downtown Phoenix area. It opened a creative space in 2021<\/a> and has been holding the festival every year since.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe got together, and we created the festival in an effort to highlight and amplify the voices and work of many Indigenous creative artists and entrepreneurs,\u201d said Claudia L\u00f3pez, co-founder of Local Matriarch and a member of Cahokia PHX. Local Matriarch is focused on empowering Indigenous women and hosted the official launch party for the festival at the Phoenix Art Museum on Friday.<\/p>\r\n

The festival took place at multiple sites around the city, culminating with events at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix last Monday. Festivities included:<\/p>\r\n