Indigenous Peoples Day 2021

Today at Denver Indian Family Resource Center we are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day! Here are some of the reasons why and how we are celebrating:

Patrick Kills Crow (Standing Rock Sioux)

Hau Mitakuyepi, I love my life as an Indigenous person everyday of my life on Mother Earth (Turtle Island) and celebrate it through prayer and humility everyday, by thanking The CREATOR for choosing me and giving me life as an Indigenous Person. My Parents and Our Tiospaye’ has always taught me to care for others--the 4-legged, winged, and all creatures I share this land with as I am a guest here. Live life like it's your last day on Mother Earth, and always, remember our Sacred Children. They depend on us, as I depended on my elders. Ho’Heceygla Ehpenkitlo’

Marsha Whiting (Sicangu Lakota/Chippewa Cree

I celebrate Indigenous day because we have survived hundreds of years of genocide and are still here! Our resilience makes me proud to be Indigenous. We do not do any special celebration beyond acknowledging the day.

Johnny McCraigie (Colville Confederated Tribes)

Humor. Beads. Dogs. Huckleberries. Horses.

Joshua Emerson (Diné/Navajo)

Navajo are lucky because we have been able to stay in Dinetah from time immemorial. Being Dine’, staying close to Dinetah, seeing the rivers they saw, walking the mountains they walked, it makes me feel connected to my ancestors. And then I think about how Delgalito and the weavers were able to adapt other peoples practices into Dine’ culture and how the Dine’ started with four clans and now number in 160,000s because of adoption and how adaptable Navajos are. And that makes me want to adapt to this world, to steal the best parts of American culture for the people and ensure that the Dine’ remain in Dinetah for time immemorial.

Entering a Season of Abundance and Giving

Indigenous Peoples Day is also a turning point in the calendar that leads us to a season of celebration, reflection, ceremony and giving. As these lands tilt away from Father Sun we enter a time of celebrating the abundance of harvest and the support of community as we settle in for winter.

In November we will mark Native American Heritage Month with awareness-raising and asking non-Natives to open their minds and hearts to hearing our stories about the past, the present and the future we envision. As we near the Winter Solstice, we enter the giving season when those with abundance share their wealth with those in need.

We hope you can join in these celebrations, rituals and reflections throughout this season. One way to participate is by making a gift to DIFRC or the many other Native-led organizations in Colorado who care for our community. This season of abundance and giving, please think about giving first to first peoples. Today, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, is a great day to start.

With gratitude,

Tara Manthey (Osage Nation)

Executive Director

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