JACKSON, Wyo. — Replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day is a campaign that goes back to 1992 in Berkeley, California, and the historical and cultural recognition continues to grow right here in Jackson Hole.
According to last year’s White House proclamation from President Joe Biden, Indigenous Peoples Day aims to “honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples, show our gratitude for the myriad contributions they have made to our world and renew our commitment to respect Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”
The proclamation highlights the fact that despite Indigenous persistence and survival over thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have faced violence and devastation in the face of racism and forcible removal from their lands to reservations throughout U.S. history and policy.
While adopting Indigenous Peoples Day as a replacement for Columbus Day is a small way to “usher in a new era in the relationship between the Federal Government and Tribal Nations,” as the proclamation says, Wyoming has yet to make this policy change as a state. However, since 2004, Wyoming has been observing Native American Day as an official state holiday in May. In 2021, the City of Laramie officially recognized Indigenous Peoples Day with the support of Native American students and organizations at the University of Wyoming.
Locally, organizations are also beginning to consider Traditional Ecological Knowledge for land management. Yellowstone National Park (YNP) acknowledges 27 listed tribes who have historic connections to the lands and resources now found within the park, and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) recognizes 24 tribes with ancestral and cultural connections to the area.
The National Park Service’s Public Affairs Specialist Maria Cavins confirmed to Buckrail that Tribe members or traditionally associated groups are able to enter parks year-round for “traditional nonrecreational activities” without paying an entrance fee. According to the NPS Management Policies, those nonrecreational activities include “traditional religious, ceremonial or other customary activities at places that have been used historically for such purposes.”
Cavins encourages all Tribe members to always consider directly contacting the park(s) they plan to visit for the policy at that location with regards to both recreational and nonrecreational uses.
Last June, the Jackson Town Council voted unanimously to incorporate a land acknowledgment into town meetings as a first step towards increasing awareness and relationships with local Tribes going forward, although Wyoming Public Radio recently investigated how these land acknowledgments fall short of what’s actually needed by Indigenous Tribes.
Teton County has also been hosting a Powwow in recent years to celebrate and share Native American culture and history, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) has been increasing commitment to amplifying Native voices and experience by bringing awareness to historic indigenous presence and current cultural expression in both the permanent collection and programming.
“We are always working towards inclusivity and elevating underrepresented voices in our spaces,” NMWA Curator of Art Tammi Hanawalt shares with Buckrail. “We see Native artists as part of our community and we look to find ways to recognize from varied perspectives the relationship between humans and wildlife.”
According to the Teton County Land Acknowledgement, Teton County encompasses the ancestral homelands of the Nimi’ (Bannock), Niitsitapi (Blackfeet), Apsáalooke (Crow), Newe (Eastern Shoshone), Aaniiih (Gros Ventre), Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) and Hinono’eino (Northern Arapaho) Peoples, all Tribes that continue to exist and impact American landscape and society today.
This article runs annually.
