RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY
WHEREAS, indigenous people continue to make innumerable contributions to present day society in medicine, agriculture, education, and serve valiantly in our nation's military; and
WHEREAS, there are currently 10 national holidays recognized by the Federal Government; none paying direct tribute to indigenous peoples; and
WHEREAS, indigenous people were forcibly removed from their homelands, hunted by settlers for bounty, and forced into boarding schools experiencing structural abuse for practicing cultural and religious traditions; and
WHEREAS, these acts forced indigenous people to endure tortured relations and destructive interactions with colonial and occupying powers; and
WHEREAS, our schools' curriculum are incomplete without sufficient coverage of Indigenous history from pre-colonial times to present day; and
WHEREAS, climate change and biodiversity research has proven that Indigenous practices based on conservation and sustainability are appropriate and necessary for human survival; and
WHEREAS, establishing a day to recognize indigenous people is appropriate and necessary; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this fourteenth day of September, 2016, do hereby declare that the second Monday in October will be officially recognized as Indigenous People's Day throughout Chicago, a concerted opportunity to celebrate the thriving cultures and values of the indigenous peoples that were removed from this land or have made Chicago home.