A Rising Tide — INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
By: Megan Tom
Tribal Affiliation: Navajo
Major(s): B.A. English Literature, Minor Public Policy
In 2012, the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) de ASU, a student organization that promotes higher education, cultura, and historia, made waves as they led an effort to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. The goal of the effort was to amplify support for Indigenous peoples on campus by recognizing their presence and historic connection to this land. Four years later, the American Indian Council (AIC), a coalition dedicated to supporting American Indian voices at ASU, joined those efforts and extended them to all four camtpuses. Stressing that ASU was built upon the ancestral lands of the Akimel O’otham, Pee Posh, Onk Akimel O’odham and Piipaash; AIC learned from MEChA’s example that Indigenous identity is intersectional and interconnected to others and to the world.
AIC shared this message and vision to the Council of Coalitions to gain support from six identity groups: Asian/Asian Pacific American Student Coalition (AAPASC), Black African Coalition (BAC), Coalition of International Students (CIS), Rainbow (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex Queer/Questioning Ally/Asexual) Coalition, El Concilio (Chicana/o, Hispana/o, Latina/o, Coalition) and the WOMYN’S Coalition. Together, through petitioning and programming efforts, on Sept. 6, 2016, they were successful in getting ASU to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. Their work did not end there. AIC went on to propose an Indigenous Peoples Day bill before the Phoenix City Council, which was approved on Oct. 5, 2016, and officially established Indigenous Peoples Day for the City of Phoenix.
States such as South Dakota, California, Nevada, Vermont and Alaska have recognized Indigenous Peoples day. In Arizona, efforts first rippled at ASU, but the tide continued throughout the greater Phoenix community. Nationally, at the 73rd National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) convention, president Brian Cladoosby (Swinomish) stated: “This is a wave that is happening across the U.S. The tide is rising for the respect of your tribal nations, and it’s because of the work that you do at the local level that these politicians are starting to understand what it truly means for us to be able to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.” It continued at the Tribal level. At the 23rd Navajo Nation Council session, council delegate Jonathan Perry recognized AIC’s collective work referring to it as, “strong advocacy for the acknowledgement of Indigenous Peoples Day throughout the City of Phoenix and ASU. We appreciate your endeavors that benefit the People of the Navajo Nation.”
The movement was coalitional and led to appreciation and recognition at the national, tribal and local levels. It is through the collaborative work of student organizations that American Indian students of AIC were able to learn that working with those around us enables greater outcomes and futures for the people. As the former president of AIC, I am urging you to join a student organization, as well as ask yourself, “how can I make the community better for those who come after me?
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