The 1890 lynching of Italian immigrants in New Orleans gave rise to Columbus Day, the Pledge of Allegiance

President Benjamin Harrison declared Oct. 12, 1892 “Columbus Day.” The back story echos contemporary themes of racism, unjust policing, and media-stoked mob violence.

Harrison’s Columbus Day proclamation was intended to be a one-time thing, honoring the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Western Hemisphere. Columbus Day might never have happened but for an international emergency. Harrison was trying “to help resolve a diplomatic crisis with Italy — and gain support among Italian American voters — after rioters in New Orleans lynched 11 Italian immigrants” in 1891, according to an article in the Washington Post.

This first Columbus Day also provided the spring board for efforts to get children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in schools across the country.

News and Events: Ways of Knowing Water Seminar; ‘Tribal Justice’ film screening; Braves’ ‘Tomahawk Chop’ could get chopped, and more

In this blog:

• Film screening of ‘Tribal Justice’ at downtown Central Library, Thursday, 7-9:30 p.m. (free)
• Ways of Knowing Water, Weisman Art Museum, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7-9 p.m. (free)
• Braves baseball team to discuss “Tomahawk Chop” with American Indians
• California tribe reclaims island it calls center of the universe
• Eleven states and 129 cities now recognize Indigenous Peoples Day; Trump, not so much
  

Indigenous Peoples Day Events and Upcoming Films

In this blog:

• Indigenous Peoples Day events in the Twin Cities, Oct. 6-8.
• American Holocaust, a hard hitting film on the link between Hitler’s treatment of Jews and the U.S. government’s treatment of American Indians, Oct. 23.
• The People’s Protectors, premier of a PBS film on the impact of the Vietnam War on Native American communities, Nov. 1

Capitol Art Petition Update and News Wrap

Healing Minnesota Stories’ petition “Make the Minnesota State Capitol more welcoming: Remove offensive art, add inspiring art” continues to gain support. We are approaching 300 signatures and have our first institutional co-sponsor, World Without Genocide. Thanks to everyone who signed. If you haven’t signed, please click on the link above and consider sharing with your networks. Thank you!

News Wrap: New Book Recounts Red Lake History, Seattle passes Boarding School Resolution; and More

• Prof. Anton Treuer of Bemidji State University just released the first book on the history of Red Lake, called: Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe, about $17 on Amazon. Here is an article on the book from the Bemidji Pioneer.
• On October 12, Indigenous Peoples Day, the Seattle City Council passed a resolution “to acknowledge and help heal the deep wounds left by the [Indian] Boarding School Policy,” according to author, Coucilmember Kshama Sawant.  Here is a link to his blog.
• Also on October 12, the state of Alaska renamed the Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples Day, according a news story in Indian Country. South Dakota was the first state to take such action, calling October 12 “Native American Day” in 1990. (According to Wikipedia, four states do not celebrate Columbus Day, the other three are Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon.)
• The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that a “Record 10 indigenous MPs elected to the House of Commons.”

 

 

This Day in History: Treaty of La Pointe; Indigenous People’s Day Events and Other News

On this day in history, Sept. 30, 1854, Ojibwe leaders signed a treaty in La Pointe, Wisconsin that cede their lands in the Arrowhead Region of the Minnesota Territory after being badly mistreated by the government.

The website Why Treaties Matter says the treaty was part of a broader effort by the government and mining interests to relocate Ojibwe people and gain access to recently discovered copper deposits in northeastern Minnesota. The treaty established several new reservations in Michigan, Wisconsin and the Minnesota Territory, including the Fond du Lac and Grand Portage reservations. Under the treaty, the Ojibwe retained extensive hunting and fishing rights.

A key piece of context for the treaty is the Sandy Lake Tragedy in the winter of 1850-51. According to Wikipedia, the wave of European immigrants coming to Wisconsin and the Minnesota Territory was creating increased political pressure on the President and Congress to move the Ojibwe.

Officials of the Zachary Taylor Administration and Minnesota Territory sought to relocate several bands of the tribe to areas west of the Mississippi River. By changing the location for fall annuity payments [to Sandy Lake, Wisconsin, an isolated trade hub], the officials intended the Chippewa to stay there for the winter and lower their resistance to relocation. Due to delayed and inadequate payments of annuities and lack of promised supplies, about 400 Ojibwe, mostly men, (12% of the tribe) died of disease, starvation, and freezing.

That experience (delayed treaty payments and promised supplies) sounds similar to the Dakota experience that led up to the U.S. Dakota War. In this case, instead of war it made the Ojibwe more eager to accept reservations on their traditional lands.

Click on the links above for more details.

St. Paul’s Indigenous Peoples Day Events

This year is St. Paul’s Inaugural Indigenous Peoples Day, and a celebration will be held Monday, Oct. 12 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 11 Kellogg Blvd. East.

The City Council passed a resolution August 12, which continues to recognize Oct. 12 as Columbus Day, but adds the recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day. Among the acknowledgements in the resolution, St. Paul acknowledges “the occupation of Dakota homelands for the building of our City and knows indigenous nations have lived upon this land since time immemorial.”

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe owns the Crowne Plaza, which will host the celebration. The Band issued a statement praising the City Council’s actions, saying: “you are replacing a day that symbolizes colonization with a day that celebrates our history and culture, as well as our future. You are paving the way for other cities across the nation.”

Doctrine of Discovery Documentary Gains More Attention

Since its official release Sept. 4, the documentary The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code has continued to gain national attention. Most recently, co-producers Sheldon Wolfchild and Steven Newcomb were on the east coast doing showings and dialogues in advance of Pope Francis’s visit to the United States. Here is a recent write up in Indian Country Today about an event at Fordham University School of Law in New York City.

Healing Minnesota Stories has worked to host a number of local screenings, and we continue to look for opportunities to bring the film to adult education classes and community organizations. For more, contact us at info@spinterfaith.org