Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Monday, October 12 this year) is a time to honor and celebrate our histories and cultures, and our enduring presence as stewards of earth, air, and waters. Everyone is warmly invited to share in the festivities of this day, with respect and gratitude.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
Dances on the Santa Fe Plaza
10 am: Danza Azteca de Anahuac (Taos Area)
11 am: To be announced
1 pm: To be announced
2 pm: Lighting Boy Hoop Dancers
3 pm: Poeh Cultural Center (Pojoaque Pueblo)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
Dances on the Santa Fe Plaza
10 am: To be announced
11 am: Water Strider Dance Group (Zuni Pueblo)
1 pm: Gourd Dancing (Multiple Pueblos)
2 pm: Gourd Dancing (Multiple Pueblos)
3 pm: Gourd Dancing (Multiple Pueblos)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
Fourth Annual Honoring Native Nations Pow Wow
9 am – 4:30 pm
Santa Fe Plaza
Hosted by Santa Fe Indigenous Center
All Native Nations are invited to come together for a day of celebrating our rich and diverse cultures. All dancers, singers, guest drum groups, royalty, tribal dignitaries, and the public are welcome. Bring your flag for the parade of nations! Thank you for respecting the request to not bring any drugs or alcohol into this space. More info here.
9 am: Opening Prayer and Land Acknowledgement
9 am: Native Art Booths Open
9:15 am: Tesuque Pueblo Cottonwood Dancers
10 am: Champion Hoop Dancers of the Southwest
11 am: Mountain Eagle from Jemez Pueblo
12 pm: Grand Entry & Parade of Nations
4:30 pm: Closing
A SPECIAL NOTE AND RESOURCES FOR NON-NATIVE FOLKS…
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is an opportunity to commit or re-commit to learning about meaningful allyship and how to practice it. This is more than just a one-day action, but this day can offer a focal point. Questions to contemplate (with thanks to Andrea Landry):
- How has my family benefitted from the past and present colonization and genocide of the original peoples of these lands?
- How did my family gain access to originally Indigenous lands?
- What legacy does my family have in the role of colonization?
- How am I continuing to benefit from colonization today?
Your honest reflections will allow you to come from a place of integrity when engaging in issues that impact Indigenous people. Also please consider reading the book Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers toward Truth, Healing, and Repair by Hilary Giovale. Elder Kathy Sanchez of TWU says of this book:
“Becoming a Good Relative offers a pathway for settler colonial peoples to comprehend other ways of seeing and feeling the world, and to unlearn the deeply misguided values inherited from a culture of violence. I highly recommend Hilary’s book and the practices within it as a tool to help reclaim soulfulness and grow a culture of peace and caring love for self and others.”
DONATE
October is a great month to direct some of your financial resources in support of Indigenous organizations that work hard every day to protect land and waters, to address and remedy longstanding inequities, to decolonize. Please consider donating to Native-led nonprofits. Here are a few suggestions (please note this list is not meant to be definitive):