“For indigenous people, it’s definitely a huge step in the right direction” said Erika Hernandez Ramirez, the student government’s vice president of committees. “It’s to honor indigenous people and to tell the other side of the story that hasn’t been told.”
Chong sought to distinguish SRJC’s action from the political movement behind the creation of Indigenous Peoples’ Days elsewhere — including the city of Berkeley, at UC Berkeley, Stanford University and Sacramento State University. That movement says it is wrong to honor an explorer whose arrival on North America’s shores ushered in the eventual destruction of much of Native American society.
“That wasn’t the source of this whole conversation that I had with this whole group,” he said. “It was, ‘We want the indigenous people who live in this community to be recognized, to have a welcoming atmosphere,’ to say ‘We welcome more Native American students to come seek higher education.’ ”
SRJC does not otherwise observe Columbus Day, a federal holiday during which the campus remains open.
The designation of Indigenous People’s Day is of a piece, Chong said, with the Pow Wow ceremony traditionally held for decades at the college’s Day Under the Oaks event, and with meetings he has set with local tribal leaders to brainstorm ways to increase enrollment of Native Americans at SRJC.
“I didn’t want to make this an adversarial event,” he said. “I see this as an outreach event to indigenous people in Sonoma County and part of what we’re trying to do as a college.”
I’m happy that our 5 kids are already out of college, and several of our grandkids have already graduated, too.
I would hate to think that any of our family was being taught this garbage.
The Indians are not indigenous to America.
Their ancestors came from what used to be called Soviet Central Asia. Other came from coastal China.
The people of those areas and the tribes of North America share similar genetic markers.
Their ancestors where here first, across the land bridge now known as Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, but they are not indigenous and they are not “native Americans.”
I’m indigenous to the United States.
Yet they’re still scrubbing my history.
Since they’re college students, you’d expect them to know that the “indigenous people” and their cultures we’re doomed as soon as an advanced civilization waded ashore in the Americas. And it would have happened if Columbus had never lived. In 1500, Pedro Cabral, sailing for India, got blown off course and discovered Brazil. Everything that happened to the Infians would have happened to them anyway. A few of the players may have been different, but it would have turned out the same regardless.
It’s easier to say ,Happy Columbus Day than Happy Indigenous People’s Day ,Hmm sounds Socialist
They’re doing everything they can to eliminate Columbus day. The leftist rag newspapers never give day and time of Columbus day parades. Politicians never march in them. They want it to go away.
It’s associated with Italians who are largely Catholic, and that is taboo with the left.
Well! It’s about time that they honored the “real” people who settled this land.....the cavemen.
As a matter of fact I think all who believe in this crap should go to the edge of any nearby lake, walk in the water and keep walking so they can actually meet these “
indigenous” founders of our country.
Hey, they are up there waiting on your visit.
If left alone, Indians would still to this day be living in grass huts, making continuous war on each other, using up the land and then moving to a new plot to use up, short life expectancies, no progress to improving the lives of themselves. They were in North America for around 10,000 years and made zero progress of any kind in that entire time.
All students should be required to live like an Indigenous person for one day. Sleep in a wikiup, wear hides, eat pulverized dried worms, hunt for any other food.
Like the Indians of New Mexico who threw out the Spanish they suddenly found they really missed the beef and lamb, and hated Pop’e the new ruler! And the Apaches really began to reduce their population.
More “Noble Savage” BS. Indians were called savages for a reason. They routinely massacred men women and children in the worst ways imaginable and were the terrorists of their time. Imagine living miles from your nearest neighbors and seeing a bunch of indians approaching while all you have is a single shot rifle. You didnt know if they were there to trade or to murder your family.
LOL!! Everyday is freaking "indigenous peoples day".
As long as it also discusses how the Indigenous ones killed each other took slaves from other tribes etc. But somehow I doubt that will be part of it.........