Full house applauds City Council’s approval of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Thirteen-year-old D.J. Smith testifies about what Indigienous People’s Day means to his generation before the Moorhead City Council while Human Rights Commission member Heather Keeler looks on. (Photo/Nancy Hanson)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson
hansonnanc@gmail.com
Outside City Hall, Willard Yellow Bird conducted a blessing ceremony and “smudged” supporters in a haze of smoky sage.
Inside the City Council chambers, a full house of supporters applauded and cheered two hours later when Moorhead leaders ratified designation of the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The event supersedes Columbus Day, a federal – but not state or city – holiday.
The request was brought to the council by Heather Keeler, a member of the city’s Human Rights Commission. She explained that while Moorhead has had a Cultural Diversity Day since 1963, the commission agreed that an official day celebrating the contributions of native peoples will present new opportunities, in Heather’s words, “for the next generation to have something to look up to.”
“We didn’t have that when I grew up. It’s extremely important for our history to be heard.” She added, “We invited community members to come join us here tonight to see and understand this process. This is something that’s very important to us. We don’t get a lot of wins. We come here to celebrate our culture and our ancestors and to create a foundation for the next generation.”
The commission’s request to designate the day is part of a nationwide effort. A number of Minnesota cities have already made the move, including Grand Rapids, Bemidji, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Red Wing, as well as Fargo (since 2015) and, most recently, Grand Forks. The movement began in the state of South Dakota in 1989.
As for the city’s Cultural Diversity Day, which has moved around over the years, Heather said the commission has discussed retaining it on another date but perhaps re-imagining it – possibly as a celebration of Juneteenth, the June 19 anniversary of the emancipation of the slaves.
Mayor Johnathan Judd called on several Moorhead and community residents to share their opinions. The first was D.J. Smith, a 13-year-old Horizon Middle School student, who spoke of the importance of learning his people’s history. “People deserve to know the truth about the land and the history of this land and my ancestors who lived here,” he told the council.
Rev. Michelle Webber of First Congregational Church said, “We all owe a great debt to the people who lived here before we came as immigrants. This is a way to symbolically turn the tables and acknowledge the debt we’ve inherited from our ancestors and the broken system that created that debt.”
The final speaker, Chalsey Snyder of West Fargo, observed that support of the holiday goes beyond the boundaries of Moorhead and Fargo. “We’re all different tribes from different places, standing before you as one people. I appreciate the opportunity for not just myself, but for the community members to be heard and for understanding from the city council, whether agreeing or dissenting, to honoring people like my daughter and our ancestors and where we came from.”
The resolution, citing in part that “the City of Moorhead fosters inclusivity, racial equity and justice for all people and opposes systemic practices that perpetuate the oppression of Indigenous Peoples,” was adopted by a vote of 7 to 1. It also specifies the day “will not be a holiday for city employment purposes.”
Council member Steve Gehrtz, attending his second-to-last meeting before leaving the council, cast the lone dissenting vote. “I am always conscious about creating a precedent,” he explained. “Where does it stop?” He spoke, he said, for the silent majority of people as well as those in the audience. “I fully support Cultural Diversity Day, but approving Indigenous Peoples’ Day will open us up to requests for 10 or 12 or 15 or 18 other special days for certain groups.”
Deb White, the council member who sits on the human rights commission, responded, “I’m proud to support this … and I look forward to a day when we begin to run out of dates to celebrate all the wonderful cultures that make up our community.”

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