VOCABULARY:
invade – v., to take over a land or territory
violently – adv., to do something with force and anger
flourished – v., to thrive, to grow well
harmony – n., getting along, working together
tribes – n., groups of people who share a culture
throughout – prep., all over, everywhere
colonize – v., to take control of a new place
concern – n., caring, wanting someone to feel safe or feel better
dominance – n. control, authority
Indigenous – adj., being the people who originally lived in a region
proclaim – v., to announce for the public to know
resilience – n, able to recover quickly from difficulty
determination to preserve – expression, to have a firm goal to protect something
campaign – n., a series of planned actions to reach a goal
displacement – n, forced out of a home territory
assimilation – n., when minority groups absorb the characteristics of the dominant culture
What, exactly, is this day? It is a day to remember and honor the Native Americans, the people who lived here long before white settlers invaded and violently took their land.
Over 400 years ago, a peaceful society flourished in the Americas. The Native Americans lived with each other and in harmony with nature. They worshiped the earth and the sky, and took good care of their children and their elders. There were many different tribes of Native Americans throughout what is now the United States.
Europeans arrived after Columbus’ discovery of North America and soon colonized the new country. They did this without respect or concern for the people who were here before them. Terrible fights between the white people and the Native Americans led to white dominance over the lands that had belonged to the tribes.
President Biden, in 2021, became the first U.S. president to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day officially.
He proclaimed the second Monday in October as a day to honor Native Americans, their “resilience and strength” and determination to preserve “land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition,” even as they have faced a “centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror,” he said.
with thanks and acknowledgement to NPR:
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/11/1044823626/indigenous-peoples-day-native-americans-columbus
