|
For Immediate Release:
Oct. 7, 2019
For More Information:
Marco Saucedo, Council Assistant, District 6
Marco.Saucedo@dallascityhall.com
Dallas, TX – Representatives of many organizations from the Dallas Native American Community will be attending the October 8, 2019 Dallas City Council meeting, as the council members consider a resolution recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. That date is currently recognized as Columbus Day. This year it falls on October 14.
The resolution is being presented by Council Member Omar Narvaez, District 6. Mr. Narvaez was elected to his first term on the City Council in 2017. He has a record of addressing systemic racism and the resulting historical inequalities in his district. “We stand on land once belonging to the First Nations People. This recognition legitimizes and honors our ancestors,” said Council Member Narvaez. “The City of Dallas now joins other leading municipalities.”
Dallas is currently behind 130 city governments in making the switch including Austin, Denver, and six states including South Dakota and New Mexico. The idea to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples day began at the United Nation’s 1977 International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas in Switzerland. In 1989, the South Dakota legislature passed a law proclaiming 1990 as the Year of Reconciliation, which later gave way to replacing Columbus Day with Native Americans’ Day. In 1992 Berkley, CA was the first city government to adopt the name change.
Many Dallas-based Native American organizations will be present during the meeting to show their support of the resolution. Texas ranks eighth in population size by state of Native Americans, with the largest concentration located in the Dallas area. Some of the organizations scheduled to speak to the council include Indigenous Institute of the Americas, Red-Handed Warrior Society, American Indian Education Program-Dallas ISD, Dallas Indian Methodist Church, Inter-tribal Community Council, Urban Inter-tribal Center of Texas, DreamWalker Foundation, American Indian Heritage Day of Texas, Native American Business Association.
Native American and indigenous communities across the nation are excited to see consensus and positive support for the replacement of Columbus Day. “Christopher Columbus never set foot on the continental USA. Starting with Plymouth Rock, there are so many documented occasions of European settlements being on the brink of collapse when local native populations saw humans in need and stepped in to help,” said Diana Parton, CEO, DreamWalker Foundation. “The replacement of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day is a necessary step in creating a society built in truth and able to embrace, celebrate and encourage all its citizens.”
The resolution will contain a land acknowledgment for the Caddo & Wichita Nations who have lived on the land now known as Dallas since time immemorial. The resolution firms the City’s willingness to participate in Indigenous Day celebrations and activities and encourages Dallas-based businesses, organizations and public schools to also recognize the day.
If the resolution passes, the City Council will present the resolution to the citizens of Dallas on October 8, 2019, in the Flag Room at City Hall. The Dallas City Council meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on October 8, 2019, at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, 75201.
###
|
