President Joe Biden designates October 11 as Indigenous Peoples Day

• President Joe Biden has declared October 11 Indigenous Peoples Day.
• Biden acknowledged in a Columbus Day proclamation that European explorers had harmed Native Americans.
• The Biden administration restored protections to two national monuments in Utah on Friday.

After years of campaigning by Native Americans for federal recognition, President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day, which he said would be observed on October 11 in honor of the original inhabitants of the United States. .

“From time immemorial, Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Hawaiians have built vibrant and diverse cultures – protecting the land, language, spirit, knowledge and traditions through generations, ”Biden said in a White House proclamation.

Although Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated on the same date as Columbus Day, Biden acknowledged the atrocities inflicted on Indigenous communities by European explorers in another proclamation and urged the country not to try to bury the “shameful episodes from our past”.

“For Native Americans, Western exploration has ushered in a wave of devastation: violence against indigenous communities, displacement and theft of tribal homelands, introduction and spread of disease, etc.,” said a proclamation from Biden’s White House. . “On this day, we recognize this painful past and commit to investing in Indigenous communities, fulfilling our solemn and sacred commitments to tribal sovereignty, and pursuing a better future centered on dignity, respect, justice and human rights. opportunities for all. “

Biden also announced Friday that his administration would restore protections at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, as well as two monuments in New England.

“This is perhaps the easiest thing I have ever done so far as president,” Biden said Friday during a speech to the White House.

Former President Donald Trump previously revoked protection for thousands of acres at the four monuments, Indian Country Today reported, opening them up to mining, commercial fishing and other developments.

“Today’s announcement is not just about national monuments. It is this administration which centers the voices of indigenous peoples and affirms the shared management of this landscape with the tribal nations, ”said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, citizen of the Laguna Pueblo Nation.