Happy Columbus Indigenous Day
Written By Stephen Smith
It's Columbus day in NYC. The parade will be flowing down 5 ave. The Italian Americans will watch and cheer, showing the Italian national flags. Celebrating Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas and discovering the new land. Meeting the American Indians and Weeeell, let us just say the history gets a little bluriy from there. I'm being kind; it's a holiday.
I want to tell a story about my journey across America on R.T. 66 from NYC to California. I wanted to see America up close. Watch the terrain change over time. I was in Flagstaff, Arizona. I wanted to see the Grand Cannon, it was only an hour's drive, and I could loop around back to complete my journey to California.
I started my venture up a winding road north. the views were spectacular! Some roadside markets were around 20 minutes from the Grand Canyon State park. I decide to stop, stretch my legs and take a look. Strangely I noticed they were no one around. Cars and tour buses never stopped. I walked up to the first stall I saw and took a look. Turquoise jeweler, I said wow, these are very beautiful! The man said thank you. I tried on some and began small talk. He was telling me I was the first person to stop today. It was high noon already. My first reaction was, why? He began to tell a story about this place was Indian land, and we are from a local tribe. We make handicrafts and local food, and we've been selling for years, making very little money. Wow, I said why, your crafts are great, and the food tastes delicious, as I devoured the roasted corn and chicken spiced with some perfect balance between hot and sweet. Well, he looked down sadly and said, it's because where INDIANS............
Rights of American Indians.
On June 2, 1924, congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act. Granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. The right to vote, however, was governed by state law; until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting. The states were mainly in the south. The last state to pass the Act was Maine in 1957. They were also given free land but only on small plots of undesirable land with very little groundwater. My new friend told me they could also work and pay no income taxes. Who wants to hire an Indian he said with a look of anger.
Why we celebrate Indigenous day .....
Few people know it's Indigenous Day, the same day as Columbus Day. Why can't the Native American Indians have their own day? We, the white people, took their land and forced them to live on almost unliveable land. Then told them; hey, this land is free, and you don't have to pay income taxes as long as you live on what white people call reservations.
Native American Indians deserve better!
We, as Americans, have to look in the mirror at how we treat indigenous people and immigrants in our great country.
To quote the first paragraph from the song, this land is your land, Great Woody Guthrie:
"This land is your land, and this land is my land.
From California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me".
In Conclusion, enjoy the holiday today and try to reflect on the Native American Indians that lived in this great country before we even got here. By the way, my friend I met at the roadside market I did buy a crafted turquoise stone. I look at it once in a while and remember my journey crossing America.
We would like to thank all the YGG subscribers. We are currently working on building our website and newsletter. We are hiring some great writers for our staff. to help with the cost. We at You Go Girl have designed some lifestyle clothing for active women. We have designs for women by women.
Please visit our Etsy store