Day of the Great Chiefs - National Holiday

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Today, in the United States of America, it is a national holiday. People are off work, and in most cases, paid for their time off. Children are out of school. Banks, post offices, schools, and other government agencies are closed. It is a day for remembering and honoring a great man and a great leade named Martin Luther King. The whole month of January, in fact, is dedicated to the history and achievements of Black Americans. This is a good thing. A wonderful thing.

But, what about the American Indian? Will we ever have a day to honor the great leaders of that race? Will schools, government agencies and businesses close down in a national tribute to the original people of this land? It seems inconceivable that we would ever have an entire month dedicated to the history, contributions and sacrifices of the American Indian. But why should that be so inconceivable, considering everything they gave to us; their land, their culture, their lives? Frankly, this lack of honor and respect to such a noble and suffering race is beyond my comprehension. It's a complete disgrace.

I'm sure this is a issue that is, or has been, in the thoughts of many people of all races. It's not unique to me. What are your thoughts on this subject? I would be interested to know.
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"All the weirdos in California chipped in a penny to buy me a bus ticket out of there." Head Weirdo

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1792 Chief Walking Crow
1862 Chief Sitting Bull
2010 Chief Rolling Dice

ruveyn

I don't like the idea of any race getting a specific month or holiday.

February is the month to honor all leaders.

Actually, Black History Month is February.

My birthday is February 1st! I'm going to be 35 years old!! ! Death is just around the corner.

There already is a Native American Heritage Month, November: http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ And note that it's a .gov site.

Well that's just poor planning. Wouldn't it make better sense to have MLK day in Black History Month?


They must be keeping it a secret. Thanks so much for letting me know about this. I'm going to check out the link you provided. But still, I believe a holiday is in order. I mean in the US they even put Ground Hog's Day on the calendar. I'm really curious to know how many Americans are aware that November is Native American month.
Quoting Magnus

I never heard of that before.
Jacoby wrote:

I'm sure many would agree with your point of view.
Ruveyn wrote:

Yes afterall they were the first ones here.

I wouldn't mind celebrating if there were Powows involved!

Those are always fun.

I guess that's a matter of perspective. The day is when it is because his birthday was January 15.

Personally, I don't think there's any reason MLK day and Black History Month should be tied together. But I recognize and accept that others see it differently.

I'm sure that could be arranged, MissConstrue. It would be great to have pow wows going on all over the country on the same day, including on the White House lawn. I mean, after all, they have Easter egg hunts there, why not a big pow wow with the president and first lady included. I think this would really be beneficial to American Indian children, to see their history and culture being celebrated on a day especially recognized in their honor. Suicide and murder is rampant among the youth on the reservations. It's really reached crisis proportions.

Actually, I was just making a little joke about poor planning, a kind of poke at our government planners or whoever it is that decides what our holidays will be and when our holidays will be celebrated, but my jokes don't always go over so well.

What I should have said, and what would be my idea of better planning, would be to have Black History month in the same month as MLK day, which, as you pointed out, is in January. Maybe if I understood why the two events are held in different months, I would think as you do. And then again, maybe not. My reasoning for having the two events celebrated together in the same month is that doing so would be to devote the entire month, not only to Black history and culture, but to Martin Luther King, one of the greatest American leaders in the peace and freedom movement who devoted his whole life to helping Americans (and the world) see racism for the insanity that it is; a holy man who lost his life at the hands of a racist in the process.

Please give this video a minute or two to get to the good part. Floyd Red Crow Westerman singing "Just Another Holy Man"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUOkRJsGoRI[/youtube]

Black History Month is older, that's why. 1926 (starting as Black History week, but in February), which is before MLK was even born.

Indeed and it is a frightening epidemic that no one seems to bring up.

I'm surprised nothing has been said much about the indegenous people of this nation. I find their cultures especially interesting and far removed from most ancient civilations. They're interesting beliefs revolving around life and it's earthly aspects.

I guess there is this deep guilt rooted within the american people and their past. The nation afterall experienced a history of human genocide and treaties and promises broken.

I think if we were to teach the past of our nation in its true respect, we would be culturally and socially enriched.. One thing I think hurts our nation more than anything is denying our dark past while most nations cling to them so the past doesn't repeat itself. Sadly I don't think our country has done a good job in learning this very lesson in essence. We are still covering our crap underneath a rug and everyone except ourselves see it.

Wow, we really think so much alike on this issue, MissConstrue. Yes, it was and continues to be Genocide and nothing less. I agree. It's shame and guilt that keeps the problem out of sight and out of mind. It's sickening really, when you think about it. That crap under the rug can't be seen, true, but everyone knows it's there because it stinks so bad.

I think the only thing we can do as individuals is teach our children the truth of how it all went down. A national holiday to honor the native people would be a good start, but only a start, in admitting our nation's crimes against humanity. Until we do that, nothing's going to change.

And Mysty, thank you for raising my consciousness about Black History Month.