While some recognize Columbus Day on Oct. 11, others are working to raise awareness of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Aday, 11, stood in Syracuse’s Columbus Circle on Monday with a stoic look. She was there to celebrate her people and mourn the tragedies they faced.
“It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and we’re celebrating it,” she said. “It can also be a sad day, and you can also celebrate it.”
Her mother, Danielle Smith of the Onondaga Hawk Clan, said, “I make sure to bring her to her to these type of events because I want her to know how important it is for other people to understand, like, what’s going on.”
Aday later stood and watched her mom speak to hundreds at the event.
“They wanted to be recognized, they wanted to put this figure up and they didn’t really know the true history behind Columbus, but today, we know, so we need to do better,” Smith said in a microphone.
As one person broached the crowd with a pro-Columbus sign, Smith spoke of why she thought the monument must be removed. And though it’s important to know why the monument was first erected, she said it’s important to educate the community about why it must come down.
“We are in full support of Italian Americans putting someone else up there who is more honorable,” she said. “There are so many great Italian Americans you can honor.”
