By Larisa Manescu
October 5 was a big day in Austin that could have reverberations in communities across Texas. In case you missed it, here’s a bit of hope to keep you speaking out, organizing, and moving forward with your community for a better tomorrow.
Earlier this month, we witnessed history in the making as Austin officially declared October 9 Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Poet Edyka Chilomé, Sierra Club Adminstrative Assistant Natalie Martinez and Sierra Club Valley Organizer Bekah Hinojosa standing up for Indigenous rights at Austin City Hall on Oct. 9, 2017
This symbolic recognition, coming out of City Hall with a 9-1-1 vote, adds Austin to a growing list of cities across the country acknowledging the historical inaccuracy that Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas.
"We are asking for one day of the whole year that Indigenous people can claim as their own day. One day which we currently do not have," Sierra Club Senior Organizing Manager Dr. Tane Ward said before the City Council.
An amendment that proposed to simultaneously acknowledge Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day was voted down. Given Columbus’ atrocities against Native peoples, a brutal legacy felt to this day, it’s insulting to propose that his name is lauded and that the two days could co-exist.
Dr. Ward also made the connection that the fight for Native rights in Texas and against the border wall in the Rio Grande Valley is interconnected. “As these increasingly militarized border laws are coming our way, we also have to maintain and demonstrate that we believe in the right to migration.”
It appears that the City of Austin recognizes that.
On the following Monday, October 9, more than 200 people came out to celebrate Austin’s first official Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Residents from all walks of life joined Indigenous and East Austin community leaders to welcome the community to the first Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration. The event was led by prayer and filled with food, conversation, poetry, and music.
Photo: V&M Productions
Photo: V&M Productions
The crowd is only going to grow each year.
Momentum Against The Border Wall
Also on Austin City Council’s consent agenda on October 5 was an anti-border wall, pro-Dream Act resolution drafted by Sierra Club Volunteer Annie Hartnett. The City of Austin now officially opposes the border wall and supports comprehensive immigration reform. Austin follows the lead of El Paso, San Diego, and 17 cities and two counties in the Rio Grande Valley in formally opposing the expensive, racist border wall.
Want to get more active on opposing the border wall? Join us on Wednesday, Oct. 25, to send a message to Senator John Cornyn, the U.S. Congress, and President Trump that Austin stands with border communities and immigrants in support of a Clean Dream Act and against border wall construction and militarization of our border with neighboring Mexico.
These issues are gaining steam as our federal and state government have made it clear that money holds more influence over them than the people that speak for preserving land, water, and human health and well-being. While the daily news onslaught of environmental regulations being rolled back is disheartening, hope lies in the small successes, building off of one another until our collective voices and actions become a tide for justice that can’t be ignored.
Can’t make it to Austin? Contact Annie Hartnett at anniehhartnett@gmail.com to learn how you can get an anti-border wall resolution filed with your city council.