Today Monday, Oct. 14, we commemorate Indigenous Peoples' Day, and we honor the histories and cultures of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. We acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and resilience of Native Americans who created and continue to develop diverse cultures rich in knowledge, traditions, and languages that have survived a long history of horrific oppression. For many years Native Americans have protested the honoring of Christopher Columbus, who enabled their colonization and forced assimilation. Historically, our country has systematically sought to colonize, oppress, and even eradicate Indigenous People and their cultures.
I encourage each of us to reflect today on our complicity in that violent history, including Washington State’s, Tacoma’s, and our institution’s involvement in our local history. I also encourage each of us to recognize Indigenous People’s resiliency and strength and the immeasurable impact of Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to American society and to the world. An example of this recognition is the replacement of Oregon trail pioneer Markus Whitman’s statue in the US capitol in DC, with a statue of tribal treaty rights activist Billy Frank Jr., who received the degree of Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Puget Sound in 2004.
In this spirit of recognition and reflection, I invite the university campus community to utilize the resources below to enrich our understanding of this painful and troubled history and to engage in learning opportunities to build a strong and equitable relationship with Indigenous people in the Tacoma area.
Educational Resources
(Note: I acknowledge and appreciate the help provided by librarian Peggy Burge, associate director for Public Services, and professor Douglas Sackman in the compilation of the resources listed below).
- Collins Memorial Library resources (library and open web). This list contains, books, documentaries, films, podcasts, and articles.
- Gifted Earth: the Ethnobotany of the Quinault and Neighboring Tribes, by Douglas Deur and the Knowledge-Holders of the Quinault Indian Nation.
- Seattle from the Margins : Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City, by MeganAsaka.
- The White House: A proclamation on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 2023.
- Zin Education Project: Indigenous Peoples’ Day Resources
- National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian: Native Knowledge 360
Recommended Books
About/from This Region
- Framing Chief Leschi by Lisa Blee
- Indians in the Making by Alexandra Harmon
- Reclaiming the Reservation by Alexandra Harmon
- Histories of Indian Sovereignty Suppressed and Renewed by Joshua Reid
- The Sea is My Country by Joshua Reid
- Native Seattle by Coll Thrush
- Messages from Frank’s Landing by Charles Wilkinson and Billy Frank
- Wiyaxayxt / Wiyaakaaawn / As Days Go By: Our History, Our Land, Our People --The Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla by Jennifer Carson (ed).
From Outside PNW
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxane Dubar-Ortiz
- Surviving Genocide by Jeffrey Ostler
- The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer
- Our History is the Future by Nick Eses
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Documentaries & Films
- Video on the naming of The Mountain
- Documentaries to Watch for Native American Heritage Month
- Journal of American Indian Higher Education recommended films
Other Resources
- "Why more places are abandoning Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day” in Indian Country Today (2019), Malinda Maynor Lowery, a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
- New York Library Recommended Reads Honoring Indigenous Peoples
Lorna Hernandez Jarvis, PhD (She, Her, Ella)
VP of Institutional Equity and Diversity