As the discussion grew more heated over whether Cook County should change the designation of the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I was reminded of how the matter was handled by the Science Museum of Minnesota.
I enjoyed a visit to the museum in August. There was a wonderful mix of new and old, high tech and low tech. There was a great historical section with information on the fur trade, on early efforts at mining and an impressive display of Ojibwe artifacts.
There is an interesting display about logging that includes a monster-sized slab of white pine polished to a sheen with pushpins marking historic dates that coincide with tree rings. For example, May 14, 1607: Founding of Jamestown settlement; April 19, 1775: Start of Revolutionary War; May 11, 1858: Minnesota became the 32nd state and so on.
Next to the giant tree was a display with a single pin that had been removed from the timeline. The label read: October 12, 1492: Columbus discovered America. Below the label was a drawing of Christopher Columbus and a well-written explanation of his accidental discovery of the “New World.” The display went on to describe the devastation caused by the arrival of Europeans, both intentional and unintentional.
The display also shared the convoluted history of Columbus Day which was declared a federal holiday by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937.
The museum didn’t attempt to erase history. It did not deny the accomplishments of Columbus—he did expand the horizons of the European people. But it also didn’t sugar coat the mistreatment of the natives he encountered and enslaved. And, finally, the museum reported that the city of Minneapolis, where the museum sits, no longer celebrates Columbus Day, honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead.
I think the museum did a great job with a sensitive subject. I wish our county board had done the same.
I think that Commissioner Frank Moe thought his request to adopt a resolution to change the designation of the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day was a no-brainer. His constituents are the people of Grand Portage and from talking to them—including the 10 youths who bravely came to the county board to ask for recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day—he knew this was something many people felt strongly about. It’s one I support.
Commissioner Moe also lives in the same community as Deb White, the Hovland-area school board representative who has been advocating for the establishment of Indigenous Peoples’ Day for over a year. They have likely discussed the initiative at town hall meetings.
It would have been helpful if Commissioner Moe had gotten his proposed resolution in the county board packet in advance of the Grand Portage students’ earnest request. If Commissioner Heidi Doo- Kirk had the chance to get her questions answered, she likely would have been supportive. However, she is also committed to doing what is best for her constituents—many who are county employees. So upon hearing the request, she thought logically—is a resolution necessary? Is a proclamation a better way to handle the request? Can the county make a difference with its opinion? How would this change affect the county employees? Would this impact union negotiations regarding days off?
It was disappointing that Commissioner Doo-Kirk thought more with her head than her heart on the first hearing of the request. But now that she has had time to think about the questions and do a little research, she has voiced her support for a proclamation designating the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to add her vote of support.
A special meeting has been called by Commissioner Moe at 2 p.m. on Monday, October 12. Commissioners Doo-Kirk and Garry Gamble told their colleagues they would not be available for that meeting, but Moe, eager to do the right thing before the federal Columbus Day holiday, scheduled the meeting anyway. Commissioner Moe’s enthusiasm is great, but I’m disappointed that he didn’t give his colleagues more time to also do the right thing.
It wouldn’t be the end of the world if discussion continued, if the Grand Portage youths were invited back to the regular meeting on Tuesday, October 13 to plan for Indigenous Peoples’ Day next year.
I’m guessing that the Science Museum of Minnesota didn’t get its Columbus Day label removed the first time the request to do so was made. I’ll bet it took a lot of discussion and debate to come up with the wording on the panel that is now next to the historic timeline.
I hope that the county board will follow suit. The board best serves the county by being a model of cooperation on potentially divisive issues. Because perhaps most important—more important than when the county gets the second Monday of October designation changed—is how the county gets to that point.
It’s not so much the journey
that’s important; as is the
way that we treat those we
encounter and those around
us, along the way.
Jeremy Aldana
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