準(zhǔn)備慶祝“土著人民日”

準(zhǔn)備慶祝“土著人民日”

Growing up, we all likely encountered a very rosy description of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, how he sailed the ocean blue, discovered America, had three ships, blah, blah, blah. In reality, Columbus was something of a giant horror show in terms of his deadly impact on indigenous peoples, thirst for wealth and relative indifference to the plight of others. Oh — and he likely introduced syphilis to Europe.

從小到大，我們都可能遇到過對意大利探險家克里斯多弗·哥倫布的美好描述，他如何航行在藍色的海洋上，發(fā)現(xiàn)了美洲，有三艘船，等等，等等。事實上，從他對土著人的致命影響、對財富的渴望和對他人困境的相對冷漠來看，哥倫布可以說是一場巨大的恐怖秀。哦，他可能把梅毒帶到了歐洲。

Landing of Columbus, painting by John Vanderlyn. (Photo: John Vanderlyn [public domain]/Wikimedia Commons)

Is this really the kind of person who deserves a federal holiday?

這真的是那種值得聯(lián)邦假日的人嗎?

For many, that answer is a resounding no. As more of Columbus's transgressions become known, there's increasing pressure to remove his name from anything to do with the second Monday in October and instead honor those who settled the "New World" thousands of years earlier. Earlier this year, a bill was introduced in Nebraska to replace Columbus Day with "Standing Bear and Indigenous Leaders' Day." A compromise was reached in March to call it Columbus, Standing Bear and Indigenous Leaders' Day.

對許多人來說，這個答案是響亮的“不”。隨著哥倫布的越界行為越來越多地為人所知，人們越來越迫切地要求將他的名字從與10月第二個星期一有關(guān)的任何活動中移除，取而代之的是向幾千年前在“新大陸”定居的人們致敬。今年早些時候，內(nèi)布拉斯加州提出了一項法案，以“站立熊和土著領(lǐng)袖日”取代哥倫布日。今年3月，雙方達成了一項妥協(xié)，將其命名為“哥倫布站熊和土著領(lǐng)袖日”(Columbus, Standing Bear and Indigenous Leaders’Day)。

In 2014, Alaska renamed it "Indigenous Peoples Day." And in 2014, both Seattle and Minneapolis voted to stop recognizing Columbus Day in favor of "Indigenous Peoples Day." According to the Associated Press, the new holiday "celebrates the contributions and culture of Native Americans and the indigenous community."

2014年，阿拉斯加將其改名為“原住民日”。2014年，西雅圖和明尼阿波利斯都投票決定不再認可哥倫布日，改為“原住民日”。據(jù)美聯(lián)社報道，這個新節(jié)日“慶祝美國原住民和土著社區(qū)的貢獻和文化”。

Other areas, including Los Angeles County and Portland, Maine, have recently taken measures to remove Columbus Day as a recognized holiday in their respective jurisdictions, and instead recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. A petition to do likewise in Atlanta has been garnering some attention.

其他地區(qū)，包括洛杉磯縣和波特蘭，緬因州，最近已經(jīng)采取措施取消哥倫布日在他們各自的管轄范圍內(nèi)的認可假日，取而代之的是認可土著人日。一份在亞特蘭大也做同樣事情的請愿書已經(jīng)引起了一些關(guān)注。

Inspired by this movement, the University of Alaska Southeast, Oklahoma University and even Fargo, North Dakota voted to also embrace Indigenous Peoples Day. In announcing the change, Oklahoma University president David Boren said, in 2015, that the new holiday will feature a daylong celebration of Native culture on campus — including food, dance, the arts and special lectures.

受這一運動的啟發(fā)，阿拉斯加?xùn)|南大學(xué)、俄克拉荷馬大學(xué)甚至法戈大學(xué)、北達科他州都投票支持設(shè)立土著人日。俄克拉荷馬大學(xué)校長大衛(wèi)·博倫在2015年宣布這一改變時表示，新的節(jié)日將在校園內(nèi)舉行為期一天的本土文化慶?；顒?，包括食物、舞蹈、藝術(shù)和特別講座。

"We must never forget the many injustices in our history in the treatment of Native people and never stop admiring the strength of Native people who have preserved their values and whose cultures and governments continue in the face of terrible adversities and injustices," he wrote in a statement.

他在一份聲明中寫道:“我們絕不能忘記我們歷史上對待土著人的許多不公正，絕不能停止對土著人的力量的欽佩，他們保留了自己的價值觀，他們的文化和政府在可怕的逆境和不公正面前繼續(xù)存在。”

Federal-level changes

聯(lián)邦水平上的變化

Currently, 21 states recognize Columbus Day as a true holiday, giving their employees the day off. Efforts to officially change its federal designation on social media and through the White House's We the People petition site had some support during Barack Obama's tenure, but those efforts fell short of the 100,000 signatures needed for a response from the Obama administration. However, during then-President Obama's annual declaration of the holiday, there appeared to be a growing acknowledgement of the day to be not just about Columbus, but those who were also here long before.

目前,21個州承認哥倫布日是一個真正的假期,給正式員工一天假。努力改變其聯(lián)邦指定通過白宮的社交媒體和我們?nèi)嗣裾堅妇W(wǎng)站有一些支持在奧巴馬任期內(nèi),但這些努力低于所需的100000個簽名的回應(yīng)奧巴馬政府。然而，在當(dāng)時的總統(tǒng)奧巴馬的年度節(jié)日宣言中，似乎有越來越多的人認識到這一天不僅是哥倫布的節(jié)日，也是很久以前就在這里的人的節(jié)日。