{"id":90935,"date":"2015-10-12T16:03:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-12T22:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=90935"},"modified":"2015-10-12T16:03:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T22:03:09","slug":"the-movement-to-change-the-oct-12-holiday-is-rooted-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2015\/10\/the-movement-to-change-the-oct-12-holiday-is-rooted-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The movement to change the Oct. 12 holiday is rooted in history"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>COMMENTARY:<\/strong> For several decades there have been movements to redefine the holiday that falls on Oct.\u00a012. In the United States this holiday is traditionally known as Columbus Day, while in many Latin American countries it goes by a different name.<\/p>\n<p>Recently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2015\/10\/albuquerque-says-adios-to-columbus\/\" target=\"_blank\">Albuquerque<\/a> joined <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2015\/10\/12\/columbus-day-becomes-indigenous-peoples-day\/73802278\/\" target=\"_blank\">dozens of other cities<\/a> in a change that is being led by Native American and Chicano leaders and supporters.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This commentary was produced by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/frontera.nmsu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Frontera NorteSur<\/a>,\u00a0a U.S.-Mexico border news service run by the Center for Latin American and Border Studies at New Mexico State University.<\/p>\n<p>As part of our special coverage marking the historic transformation of Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples Day, we offer this contribution by Nicol\u00e1s Cabrera, a graduate student who specializes in Spanish literature at NMSU. Cabrera\u2019s piece discusses Latin American manifestations of the movement, as well as historical accounts of the early conquest period that provide essential background information to today\u2019s debates and controversies.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt is true that this specific movement is about indigenous peoples,\u201d said Albuquerque City Council member Rey Gardu\u00f1o. \u201cAs a Chicano and an ally I stand with my Indigenous sisters and brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gardu\u00f1o was instrumental in having the Albuquerque City Council join other municipalities across the country vote in voting Oct.\u00a07 to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day with a proclamation for Oct.\u00a012th.<\/p>\n<p>Native American activist Melanie Yazzie explained why this is an issue for everybody: \u201cBecause the history of conquest, slavery, and globalized violence that Columbus actively participated in is one that continues and affects us all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The redefinition of the holiday began in the 20th Century in Latin America, where the trend to rename and redefine the Oct.\u00a012th has had the most success.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in Costa Rica it\u2019s called \u201cEl D\u00eda de las Culturas\u201d (Day of the Cultures), while in Mexico and many other Latin American countries it\u2019s called \u201cEl D\u00eda de la Raza\u201d which is best translated as \u201cDay of the People.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Nicaragua it is called \u201cD\u00eda de la Resistencia Ind\u00edgena\u201d (Day of Indigenous Resistance). Peru calls it \u201cD\u00eda de los Pueblos Originarios y del Di\u00e1logo Intercultural\u201d (Day of the Native Peoples and Intercultural Dialog).<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, in Spain, Oct. 12 was originally called \u201cFiesta de la Raza\u201d but has since been changed to simply \u201cFiesta Nacional.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>An accessible history<\/h3>\n<p>Andrea Runyan is another activist working to change people\u2019s perceptions of the holiday. Runyan said the movement is growing because people are \u201crecognizing the resilience of Native communities that have persisted despite genocidal efforts to eradicate them.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Gardu\u00f1o\u2019s solidarity, Yazzie\u2019s resistance, and Runyan\u2019s activism are rooted in history that is accessible to everybody who wants to learn more about what took place during the initial decades of contact.<\/p>\n<p>The first Spaniards who made contact with Native Americans left several accounts of tremendous historical, anthropological, and literary value. The authors, who were all men, tell the story of conflict and struggle from their own personal experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Christopher Columbus wrote the first accounts. His two most important pieces are \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/book\/254979802\/La-carta-de-Colon-anunciando-el-descubrimiento\" target=\"_blank\">Carta del descubrimiento<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Diario-bordo-libros-Spanish-Edition\/dp\/8475252044\" target=\"_blank\">Diario de a bordo<\/a>.\u201d In these works he describes the first contact he and his crew had with Native Americans as they toured several Caribbean islands.<\/p>\n<p>Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s, the famed conqueror of the Valley of Mexico, wrote \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/es.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cartas_de_relaci%C3%B3n\" target=\"_blank\">Cartas de relaci\u00f3n<\/a>,\u201d of which\u201cSegunda carta de relaci\u00f3n\u201d is the most important. In the second letter he gives a detailed account of his journey to topple Tenochtitl\u00e1n, the Aztec capital.<\/p>\n<p>Bernal D\u00edaz de Castillo wrote \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Historia_verdadera_de_la_conquista_de_la_Nueva_Espa%C3%B1a\" target=\"_blank\">De historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva Espa\u00f1a<\/a>,\u201d in which he\u00a0presents his personal account of the conquest of Mexico as a solider of Cort\u00e9s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cervantesvirtual.com\/obra-visor\/naufragios--0\/html\/\" target=\"_blank\">Naufragios<\/a>\u201d was written by \u00c1lvar N\u00fa\u00f1ez Cabeza de Vaca. This work describes the Native Americans he and his fellow shipwrecked explorers met and encountered during their eight-year journey. They were lost near present-day Galveston, Texas and together they wandered from the Gulf Coast through the present-day U.S. Southwest back to Mexico City.<\/p>\n<p>In \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_Short_Account_of_the_Destruction_of_the_Indies\" target=\"_blank\">Brev\u00edsima relaci\u00f3nde la destrucci\u00f3n de las Indias<\/a>,\u201d author Bartolom\u00e9 de las Casas gives an extraordinary account of several encounters he saw first-hand as he traveled throughout the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>He was in a unique position as a friar and bishop to travel and he took an extended journey to an unprecedented number of places. His work is valuable because it documented many of the atrocities and the brutal treatment committed by the Spaniards against the local populations.<\/p>\n<p>Upon his return to Spain he became one of the most vocal critics of the abuse and cruelty he witnessed. Casas helped to push for new laws and protections, thereby becoming one of the first Europeans to fight for human rights in the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>An important local account about New Mexico can be found in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/scholarworks.iu.edu\/dspace\/bitstream\/handle\/2022\/3220\/%20FF%2036-1%20Garcia.pdf?sequence=1\" target=\"_blank\">Historia de la Nueva M\u00e9xico<\/a>,\u201d which was written by Gaspar P\u00e9rez de Villagr\u00e1. In it he gives his account of the arrival of Juan de O\u00f1ate, soldiers, and colonists. It begins with the founding of the first Spanish-Mexican settlements in and around Santa Fe.<\/p>\n<p>But most importantly it chronicles the brutalities committed against the members of the Pueblo de \u00c1coma by O\u00f1ate and his men.<\/p>\n<p>All of these historical accounts of the first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans have been translated to English. As documents in the public domain, they can be consulted online as well as in public and university libraries.<\/p>\n<p><em>Cabrera is\u00a0a graduate student who specializes in Spanish literature at NMSU.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many historical accounts of the first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans can be consulted online as well as in public and university libraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[709,133],"class_list":["post-90935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-native-americans","tag-nmsu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}