Indigenous People’s Day, definition and activities; Cabrini Day
October 3 St Cabrini Day – State of Colorado
October 10 Indigenous People’s Day – other states’ holiday, and parts of CO
October 12th is no longer Columbus Day in Colorado – but, some federal and Colorado state organizations will be closed on Monday October 10.
Despite some misunderstanding of the nature of a presidential proclamation by the media, Indigenous People’s Day is not yet a federal holiday. Indigenous People’s Day 2022 is a state observance in 30 states and a state holiday in 3 states and 1 federal district. It is federally recognized as a national holiday.
Below are explanations of the change in ”themes/honors” for the Holiday. In 2020, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill that abolishes Columbus Day and replaces it with a new state holiday in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini. (see below for more information) Other cities in Colorado—Denver, Durango, Boulder, and Aspen—chose to officially acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Colorado was the first state to celebrate Columbus Day in 1907, many years before it would become a national holiday in 1937. This was the seventh attempt to rename the holiday. But it previously did not get state approval. Strong Italian-American groups kept the day alive for many years.
Boulder, city, Activities
Events October 8, 9, 10, and 12. See LIST – click on left hand ‘side bar’
Community events: The City of Boulder invites community members to participate in a series of Indigenous Peoples Day events to honor Indigenous Peoples, their cultures and their strong and enduring connections to the Boulder area, which have existed since time immemorial.
For the last seven years, the city and community organizations have worked together to host annual events and festivities to promote knowledge about Indigenous Peoples and honor the city’s Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution.
This year, the city’s Human Relations Commission and Office of Arts and Culture have provided funding for several community events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day 2022. Community events will occur from Saturday, Oct. 8 through Wednesday, Oct. 12 and are free and open to the public. Find information provided by event organizers below.
“Current Conversations,” Right Relationship Boulder. In partnership with the Southern and Northern Arapaho people and Native individuals and organizations around Boulder, Right Relationship Boulder will present several sessions with the theme “Current Conversations.” The sessions will be online with panels presenting on topics related to Land Back Movement, Healing Intergenerational trauma, Food Sovereignty, a Fort Chambers presentation and more. Right Relationship Boulder operates with Mediators Foundation as fiscal sponsor.
“Voces Ancestrales por la Madre Tierra / Ancestral Voices for Mother Earth,” Luna Cultura. This is an event of art, culture, oral tradition, and sound. With poetry, music, and indigenous art from the Sierra Norte region of Puebla, the Highlands of Chiapas in Mexico, and Port au Prince in Haiti. It also integrates the art of storytelling, by connecting with ancestral stories through embroidery. The preparation of amaranth “Alegrías”, a mystical ancestral Mesoamerican food, is included for everyone to taste. It is an intercultural event, where mysticism, art, and history interweave narratives for the care of Mother Earth and Resilience. This is a bilingual event.
“Indigenous Youth and Human Rights,” The American Indian Law Program at the University of Colorado Law School. The event will offer an inspiring talk from Walter Echo-Hawk, author, attorney, and president of the Pawnee Nation Business Council, and associated activities to encourage Boulder Indigenous Youth and allies, especially high school and undergraduate students, to learn about the human rights of Indigenous Peoples through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Students will have the chance to learn and ask questions about the importance of asserting Indigenous peoples’ rights while also developing social media graphics and posters to educate others and become connected to the Global Indigenous Youth Movement! The event will inspire some Boulder Indigenous Youth to attend law school and to become activists and advocates themselves. The event will be catered by Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery.
Cabrini Day
When is Cabrini Day?
Colorado passed legislation to replace Columbus Day as a state holiday with Cabrini Day. In March 2020, Gov. Jared Polis signed into law House Bill 1031, which renamed the holiday.
The first Monday in October will honor Frances Xavier Cabrini, who created 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States and South and Central America throughout her lifetime.
Mother Cabrini founded the first orphanage in Denver, which is now a shrine.
Mother Cabrini died in 1917 (at the Columbus Hospital in Chicago) and was canonized on July 7th 1946, by Pope Pius XII. She is the patron saint of immigrants.
The Cabrini Day Pledge. See the Cabrini Shrine.
In 2017, Gov. John Hickenlooper set aside a day in December to honor Mother Cabrini on the 100th anniversary of her death.
Cabrini Day is the first paid state holiday in the US to honor a woman.
