Joe Biden Becomes First U.S. President to Mark Indigenous Peoples Day a Holiday
US President Joe Biden.
Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP / Getty Images
On Friday, the president Joe biden issued two presidential proclamations to declare the October 11, 2021 like the holiday of Columbus Day and the Indigenous Peoples Day.
This makes it the nation’s first president to mark as festivity the Indigenous Peoples Day.
The president celebrated the italian legacy behind the discovery of America, and recognized the suffering of American natives at the hands of Europeans.
In the proclamation of Columbus Day, stressed that it is necessary to let this day “be of reflection about the spirit of American exploration, courage and the contributions of Italian-Americans across generations, and over dignity and resilience of the tribal nations and the indigenous communities“.
It is already recognized “the painful history of mistakes and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on tribal nations and indigenous communities, ”said the president.
He said the exploration resulted in “a wave of devastation“, And violence against Native Americans, displacement and theft of tribal lands and the disease introduction In the continent.
The only mention he made of Spain It was at the beginning of his message that he recalled that, more than 500 years ago, Columbus began a journey from the coast of Spain aboard the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa MarĂa, after guaranteeing the support of the Catholic kings.
In the proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day, the US president pointed out that for generations the policies of the country’s federal government have “systematically” sought the assimilation and displacement of the natives who lived in this territory before colonization began.
“Today we recognize the immeasurable positive impact they have had on all aspects of American society,” he said.
With information from EFE.
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