SOME THOUGHTS ON A NATIVE
AMERICAN NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Although several national holidays celebrate the contributions of various groups and individuals to American society, there is not yet any national day dedicated to Native Americans. Recently, the state of South Dakota has replaced Columbus’ Day with a Native Americans’ Day, but so far, this has not spread to other states.
Holidays often take a considerable amount of time before they are adopted nationally. For example, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day was first adopted by selected educational institutions, then to the Federal Government and selected state governments, and finally to a growing number of employers in the private sector.
Recommending that a Native American holiday replace Columbus’ Day would be controversial and would make it more difficult to pass such a proposal in many jurisdictions. Thus, it may be more appropriate to seek an entirely new holiday. Although the legend that Native Americans offered turkey to the pilgrims on the day of the latters' arrival appears to be a myth, there may be considerable advantages to scheduling a Native Americans’ Day for the Friday after thanksgiving. First, some employers, including San Diego State University, officially celebrate Veterans’ Day at a time other than the national day to coincide with other holidays. San Diego State celebrates Veterans’ Day, Columbus Day, Presidents’ Day, and two other holidays between Christmas and New Year. Introducing an additional holiday would provide an opportunity for veterans to “reclaim” their day for the original time of celebration. Therefore, veterans groups might support the idea. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the traditional day start of most Christmas shopping, and this day is thus important to retailers. If more people had this day off, there would be more opportunities for shopping. Although at first glance this might seem to detract from the celebration of Native Americans, it is possible that retailers would include decorations commemorative of Native American history. There could also be additional media coverage of Native American history and issues, and people would have more time to watch television and read newspapers on a holiday.
Links:
Native American Day at California State University, San Bernadino