Alumni return to teach students about the holiday
Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first recognized in Berkeley, California in 1992 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492. Over the years, many state legislatures have passed legislation to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day, officially honoring the significance of Indigenous peoples.
President Joe Biden officially commemorated the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021. Celebrations across the U.S. include powwows and Indian dances.
Locally, Rehoboth Christian School Executive Director Bob Ippel has been organizing celebrations of the important day for his school for the past two years. This year, the school’s new Multicultural Committee arranged the activities for the day.
Verlena J. Livingston, the school’s Director of Community Life, explained why the committee was created.
“We wanted to create a committee to celebrate the diversity we have at Rehoboth,” Livingston said. “We want to have students be proud of who they are, and we want to empower those students to live for who they are. We have many students who have a part of different heritages within them.”
A PACKED SLATE
To create a memorable day for their students, the Committee enlisted former Navajo Nation Delegate Edmund Yazzie, who is also a Rehoboth Christian alum. In an interview with the Sun, Yazzie explained the significance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“It’s important because [Indigenous Peoples’ Day] is celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day,” Yazzie said. “Christopher Columbus, his whole journey, he mistreated the Indigenous People in the West Indies, and there’s evidence of his mistreatment by way of the journals of the men who went with him.”
As part of the event, Yazzie planned to bring trail riders from all over the U.S. to the school. The group started their journey by camping overnight at the Mariano Lake Chapter House in Smith Lake, and then waking up at 7:45 am Oct. 9 to begin their journey to Rehoboth. They were escorted by two McKinley County Sheriff’s deputies.
The school’s festivities began around 2:15 pm with an assembly in which Yazzie welcomed students and introduced the people he came with, including the chuckwagon group.
After Yazzie spoke, the students were broken into three groups. The elementary-aged students learned about horsemanship from Marietta Marmon, a Navajo woman who grew up in a ranching family. The middle schoolers were going to learn about the chuckwagons that traveled along the trail ride with Yazzie, and finally, Yazzie was planning to talk to the high schoolers about how the Navajo Nation still holds the trail ride as a tradition for their sessions.
However, plans changed when the chuckwagon broke down midway through the journey, and the middle schoolers joined the high schoolers in learning about trail rides.
Yazzie has been speaking at Rehoboth Christian for three years for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. He explained why it’s important for him to help educate the students.
“It’s always important to expand knowledge,” he said. “It’s always important to introduce and talk about stuff people don’t dare to talk about in public. It’s important to just engage people and encourage them to do the same thing in their own areas. Educating people about Christopher Columbus and what happened there is important.”
FOR THE STUDENTS
Rehoboth Christian’s population is about 78% Native American, with 10 tribes represented. Livingston said the school encourages programs such as the one for Indigenous Peoples’ Day because they help the students grow and learn.
“It’s for the students,” she said. “There are many studies that say when students are proud of who they are they can contribute to the community [and] they can do better in school.”
The Multicultural Committee is just getting started with their plans for this year and the future. Along with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, they also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with special lunches and decorations in the lunchroom.
Livingston said the committee’s goal is to celebrate students.
“We wanted students to not feel like we were neglecting that part of them, and we just wanted to celebrate every heritage and we’re hoping to do that in the upcoming year in various ways,” she said.
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
