Syracuse community members, balancing on a rim of the Columbus Circle fountain, held up a makeshift banner reading “Columbus Didn’t Discover Anything … 1,000s of Nations Were Already Here.”

“What really shapes how we think of this day is how it’s taught,” said Claudia Klaver, an associate professor of English at Syracuse University.

Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation held a rally in Columbus Circle Monday evening to promote a petition to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous Peoples Day.”

The petition, circulated among rally members, called upon local lawmakers — including Mayor Stephanie Miner, members of the Syracuse Common Council and Onondaga County Legislature — to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.

More than 100 people attended the rally, including Syracuse University students and members of the Onondaga Nation.

The city of Syracuse and Onondaga County are both on former Onondaga Nation land. The nation claims to have lost possession of nearly 95 percent of its land between 1788 and 1822 to New York state.

Awhenjiosta Myers, a member of the Onondaga Nation, said it is important to educate children about Native American history. She said people must work to change textbooks and recognize the “survivors of genocide” to change current perceptions of history regarding indigenous peoples.

“I think that is the key to change. Our kids are taught untruths in schools, and it’s important that we work to change that,” added Annabel Otts, a Syracuse resident at the rally.

Otts said she brought her children to the rally, including a baby in a harness on her back, to teach them about indigenous history in America.

“It’s hard to walk into a class and hear your history misinterpreted, to hear your history whitewashed,” said Kacey Chopito, president of the Indigenous Students organization at SU and a senior history major. Chopito is a member of the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico.

Adelaide Rosa, an SU graduate, called Columbus “despicable,” and said much of his legacy was erased or forgotten in “white colonialist histories.”

Rosa worked with a de-escalation team at the rally, wearing yellow armbands with peace symbols. The team was formed to respond to any counter protesters at the rally. No counter protesters showed up.

Colonialism and its effects still exist today, said Herve Comeau, an immigration pro bono coordinator with the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County and an organizer for Black Lives Matter Syracuse.

Comeau told rallygoers to look at Puerto Rico as an example. Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September and is still awaiting substantial aid from the United States, he said.

Colleen Kattau, a singer from Truxton, New York, sang multiple songs with themes of social justice at the event. Some of the crowd sang along with her song, “To Be An Ally,” which described ways to be an ally of marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples.

Other speakers read poems, recounted the history of “U.S.-Indian law” and called for environmental justice.

“I do want to celebrate us here today, but we still have so much to do,” said Cindy Squillace, a member of Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation.

Published on October 9, 2017 at 10:51 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001