How October 14 is recognized as Indigenous People’s Day in southern Oregon
“I hope everything we say today touches your heart.”
The oldest member of the Takelma Indian people, Agnes Baker, otherwise known as ‘Grandma Aggie’, said words of hope and encouragement at Southern Oregon University to honor and celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.
October 14 is federally known as Columbus Day, but it has changed to Indigenous People’s Day for major reasons. Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of indigenous land celebrates terrorism and bloodshed of indigenous people and as a progressing society, we recognize that celebrating colonization isn’t an appropriate way to honor indigenous people. Acknowledging October 14 as Indigenous People’s Day helps preserve Native people and their culture. At Southern Oregon University, Indigenous People’s Day is celebrated among the community with activities that keep Native cultures alive. This recognition started back in 2017, and SOU is among the several universities that recognize the second Monday of October as Indigenous People’s Day, rather than the federal holiday of Columbus Day.
Many don’t know that the city of Ashland, Oregon is built on lands of Takelma and Shasta people. The Takelma are native people whose name means “(those) along the river”, and they originally lived in the Rogue Valley. The Shastan people are from the Klamath Mountains and their traditional villages were located along the Klamath, Shasta, Salmon, and Scott Rivers. These communities come together on Indigenous People’s Day and share their culture with the Ashland community through a salmon bake and social, and an intergenerational activism panel at Southern Oregon University.
This celebratory day was filled with students of SOU, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB), community members, and student organizations that helped sponsor this event.
Devonte Casey, a member of NPAIHB, touched on the significance of Indigenous People’s Day and how it helps preserve indigenous people’s culture.
“This day is really important to a lot of indigenous people because of the way history has been written. Columbus Day isn’t really a day to celebrate life, it’s a day that is really traumatic for a lot of indigenous people, so for us to claim it back is to make a day where we celebrate our life and our culture, and just the overall perseverance of all tribal people.”
At the salmon bake, community members engaged students from the audience to dance with them during the tribal dance. This exemplifies the idea that indigenous culture is well alive and should be shared among others who aren’t familiar with the culture. The colorful dances were a way to incorporate native culture into the melting pot of appreciation and preservation of indigenous people with those unfamiliar with the culture.
Jeidah Dezurney, another member of NPAIHB talked about the progressiveness of October 14, “Kate Brown actually signed a proclamation two years ago [2017] to change today [October 14] to Indigenous People’s Day.”
The adaptation to Indigenous People’s Day in Oregon is slowly but surely making it’s way up to the norm. Ashland, Oregon is among the forty other states that recognize this day and Southern Oregon University is one of the few universities in Oregon that celebrates it.
At the intergenerational activism panel, Grandma Aggie opened up the event by doing land recognition. She explained that one of her biggest concerns for this world was water. Grandma Aggie pointed out that everyone was a ‘water baby’ — everybody developed in amniotic fluid and used water as their first medicine. She touched on the importance of water and how it’s used for: drinking, flushing the toilet, washing clothes, ourselves, dishes, and our hands.
“I believe all of us were created from God, we just walk different paths.”
As a member of the Confederate Tribes of the Siletz, Grandma Aggie proposed her purpose in life was to protect the water. David West, the former dean of Native studies at Southern Oregon University, further explained the dilemma of water today.
He emphasized that all living things require water and if the majority of water around the community isn’t potable, then humans are helpless if the ‘big one’ hits.
“We can’t drink the water. And nobody wants to drink the water. What does that say? To me, I think that says, we better damn sure do something about the drinkability of our water and the survivability of the earth, and the ability of our children to safely drink the water until the seventh generation.”
Both Grandma Aggie and David West are strong activists that support the sustainability of potable water. The determination of the Confederate Tribes of the Siletz is a modern practice they are sharing with others that will make a change in the world. Just as sharing tribal dances with the community, sharing native beliefs and practices through activism is allocating for cultural awareness. Indigenous People’s Day is not only a day of celebrating and preserving culture but also a day for indigenous people to share their native beliefs through activist projects.
