NC State has yet to recognize a resolution the bill passed by student government last Spring that would replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. However, students on campus still celebrated the federally unrecognized holiday.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration Act was passed by the 94th Session of Student Senate and signed by former Student Body President Rusty Mau last spring. The bill expressed student support for a day to formally acknowledge the experience of the people that lived in the Americas long before Christopher Columbus arrived.
The Faculty Senate narrowly passed a resolution to support student government’s resolution in March, after much debate, nine in favor with eight against and one abstention. The Staff Senate has not yet discussed the resolution.
“I think that’s fantastic, it’s a really widely debated topic,” said Karli Moore, the senator who introduced the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration Act and a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. “Personally I don’t think it’s controversial – I think that it’s plain as day, but it’s proven over and over to be pretty controversial so I expect there to be division.”
Student senators attempted to go through the University Calendar Committee to make the change; however, the committee only oversees changes to the academic calendar.
“I think it would be a good discussion for [the calendar committee] to have there and decide whether they want to act on it or not,” Moore said. “We ran out of time this year but it will be an avenue we try this year.”
If Raleigh City Council passes the resolution it will not be unprecedented, Seattle’s city council unanimously voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the summer of 2014, according to NPR.
Chancellor Randy Woodson was invited to the 1490 Who? panel Monday but could not attend. Mike Mullen, vice chancellor and dean for the division of academic and student affairs was in attendance.
Moore, communicated with a member of the Staff Senate who introduced it to the senate but did not hear from them since last Spring.
As part of Diversity Education Week, NC State celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day yesterday with several events planned out by the American Indian Advisory Council.
“Over the summer the idea went to the American Indian Advisory Council at NC State and that is made up of students, faculty, staff and alumni. We talked about [Indigenous Peoples’ Day] and planned out activities for [it],” Moore said.
The largest event was 1490 Who?, a panel discussion with professors from NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Pembroke about the colonization of the Americas and the “discovery” of America by Columbus.
In Wolf Plaza there was a petition signing event for Raleigh to recognize Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Physical signatures were being collected in the Brickyard and there will be an online form available for two weeks for students and Raleigh residents to sign.
“Student Government is facilitating a petition to Raleigh City Council to change Columbus day to Indigenous Peoples day, the petition was written by native students at NC state,” Moore said.
After the petition is closed, the information will be sent to the Raleigh City Council in the hopes that it will add changing the name of the holiday to the agenda, Moore said.
“We’ll be circulating that and hopefully get a lot of signatures from NC State but also the Raleigh area in general,” Moore said.
University Dining held an Indigenous North American dinner in Clark dining hall as part of the Indigenous peoples’ day celebration.
Rodney Strickland, a member of the Lumbee tribe, president of the Native American Student Association and a freshman studying political science, said that the support of the university would mean a great deal to the less than 100 Native American students on NC State’s campus.
“I think a lot of people blindly follow normal traditions in our culture,” Strickland said. “Being a Native American myself, my parents told me growing up that what you read in history books isn’t always true because there’s a different perspective that’s not told.”
