Oak Park Replaces Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples' Day, Encourages Schools And Businesses To Follow Suit

OAK PARK, IL — Oak Park has become one of the first villages in Illinois to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day on the second Monday in October. The Oak Park Village Board of Trustees unanimously voted in favor of the proclamation to recognize the holiday and is urging schools and businesses to do the same.

The proclamation states that "The Village of Oak Park recognizes that the indigenous people of the lands that would later become known as the Americas have occupied these lands since ancient times." Adding that Indigenous Peoples' Day "shall be used to reflect on the ongoing struggles of indigenous people on this land and t o celebrate the thriving culture and value of indigenous peoples." Along with the unanimous vote for the proclamation —which will include additional education about Indigenous Peoples in America, Oak Park urges local businesses and other institutions to celebrate the holiday as well.

The motion was first presented by community organizer and 2018 Congressional candidate Anthony Clark, who heads up Suburban Unity Alliance. Clark was present at the meeting to support the proclamation, as was Dominic Candelaro, a professional historian from LaGrange Park. Candeloro said he didn't mind Indigenous Peoples' Day, but took issue with the idea of the holiday taking place on what has been known as 'Columbus Day.' Candelero, who described himself as Italian-American, said he did not approve of "replacing the traditions of one ethnic group with the traditions of another ethnic group." Uncomfortable laughter could be heard from the audience as Candelaro acknowledged that Columbus was "woeful in a lot of the stuff he did" by "modern standards." Columbus is notorious for his part in the rape, genocide, and oppression of indigenous peoples.

Clark, who had gathered hundreds of signatures from students and residents supporting Indigenous Peoples' Day, acknowledged that it is important to celebrate every group, but went on to say "there comes a point where you simply cannot celebrate everybody on a given day because certain groups have never been celebrated." He said that as a black male who grew up in Oak Park, he was not taught about important black historical figures, noting that Black History Month only lasts for 28 days, despite the fact that there are countless African-American figures who have shaped history and daily life in the U.S. For Clark, Indigenous Peoples' Day is a step in the right direction, but "it's not enough" because "it only goes so far." Clark went on to stress that "indigenous people matter and that makes me feel as a black American male that I matter as well because we are celebrating the marginalized." Clark closed by saying that he thought "after a couple of thousand years it's not too much to ask to celebrate indigenous people only."

Clark told Patch in an email, "Indigenous Peoples' Day transitions from Columbus Day and changes a celebration to understand the true legacy of Columbus creating an opportunity to reveal historical truths about the genocide and oppression of indigenous peoples while paying respect to the historical and present importance and contribution of indigenous peoples." Indigenous People's Day was first proposed in 1977 at the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas in Geneva.

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