The following is an outline of significant
dates and material used in the campaign to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day in
[your city here]:
January 30, 2018
February 6, 2018
February 7, 2018
Sent email to all City Council members asking to meet and discuss the issue. None accepted.
February 17, 2018
Launched an informational website.
(That website is now offline, but
it's similar to this one, which you may copy.)
February 23, 2018
Launched a Facebook page to help promote the website and cause.
(That page is now inactive, but
here's a sample post).
February 25, 2018
Posted
flyers on local bulletin boards.
March through October, 2018
Placed small ads a community newspaper
(
v1,
v2,
v3).
March 6, 2018
Spoke at second City Council meeting (during "public comment" period).
Listen to audio
March 12, 2018
City distributes a
survey for "community" input.
March 12 - April 24, 2018
Email exchange with City's Communications Manager (much of which was also included in Staff Report below).
March 20, 2018
March 29, 2018
April 3, 2018
April 7, 2018
April 17, 2018
May 1, 2018
August 20, 2018
Sent
email to all City Council members. No replies were received.
May 21, 2019
June 17, 2019
Received
email from Washoe Tribe.
June 18, 2019
June 20, 2019
October 2, 2019
Nearby city of Reno, Nevada renames Columbus Day.
View article
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is vehemently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
-Schopenhauer
"Time makes more converts than reason."
-Thomas Paine, Founding Father
This initial correspondence mentions
"Native American Day." However, it was later determined that "Indigenous Peoples' Day" is
the more appropriate choice because:
1) It aligns with a 1977 proposal by a delegation of Indigenous nations to the
United Nations-sponsored International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas.
2) It aligns with what 100+ other cities/states/universities have already done, and remaining consistent will
make for an easier nationwide transition.
3) Since Indigenous people lived on this continent long before it was called America by Europeans,
there's inherent conflict in the term "Native American."
4) The word "native" is often used to mean simply "born in a place." For example,
everyone born in California might call themselves a California native. There's no such confusion with the word
"indigenous."