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Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations are taking place across the country.
Events are recognizing the contributions of Indigenous people and celebrating resiliency.
A number of cities and states official recognize Indigenous Peoples Day instead of the federal Columbus Day holiday.
The effort to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day has stalled in Massachusetts.
Lawmakers decided not to vote on the matter while supporters say they want to set the record straight on history.
Kathryn Carley reports.
While the Commonwealth still recognizes Monday as Columbus Day, backers of replacing it with Indigenous Peoples Day say this would be an important first step in honoring the history and resilience of Native peoples, and they say momentum is on their side.
In libraries, parks, museums, and town halls, supporters of Indigenous Peoples Day are gathering to celebrate the heritage of Native Americans.
Mahtowin Munro of the Massachusetts Statewide Indigenous Peoples Day Campaign says more young people are questioning the history of Columbus and Native Americans they’ve learned in school, and they want to know where Native Americans are today.
“It’s really important to have an understanding of local indigenous history, to understand whose land you’re on, to understand what tribal peoples live in your area, things like that.”
Munro says changing the holiday would help undo some of the harm done to indigenous people and replace it with something positive. More than 20 communities in the Commonwealth, including Boston, officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and supporters plan to refile their bill before the legislative session begins in January.
Munro thinks now more than ever, Indigenous voices are needed in the public sphere, especially in solving climate change.
She says many native communities are directly affected by the warming climate, due to their relationship with the environment, and that others can learn from their experience.
“But the problem has been that non-native people often don’t listen to native people, so this is a way of trying to improve some things and re-center things.”
Munro says there has been some pushback to the effort to replace Columbus Day.
She acknowledges that looking to the past can be painful, but says everyone can benefit from a better understanding of the nation’s history.
“Sprit Rangers”, the new children’s TV series, debuted on Netflix on Monday.
The series is about three Native siblings who protect a national park, which is their home.
Karissa Valencia (Santa Ynez Chumash) is the creator and showrunner.
“It’s coming to Netflix October 10, Indigenous Peoples Day. It’s an animated preschool show following a modern Native American family of park rangers who live in a magical national park.”
The show is produced by Native writes and is voiced by Native actors.
Ten episodes are now available to watch on Netflix.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has established a disaster hotline for Alaska residents impacted by the severe September storm.
The storm devastated Alaska Native communities displacing residents after their homes were flooded with water, hurricane force winds destroyed boats, and the lack of electricity wiped out freezers full of food for the winter.
According to FEMA, people impacted by the storm can apply for federal assistance by calling an Anchorage-based hotline or applying online.
Assistance includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and other disaster-related needs, which may not be covered by insurance.
Subsistence items lost or damaged may also be eligible for assistance.
The state has a separate application process.
People are being encouraged to apply for both federal and state aid.
Some people may be referred to the Small Business Administration for long-term, low-interest disaster loans for businesses and nonprofits.
The deadline to apply for the FEMA assistance is November 22nd.
1-800-770-8973 or online at disasterassistance.gov.
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