In recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day today, we are honored to share some learning resources that will help you explore the legacy, rich culture, history, and modern achievements of Indigenous people worldwide.

What is Indigenous Peoples' Day?

How Can We Learn More About the Day?

• Learn more about Indigenous peoples all over the world with this country-by-country guide from International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA).
  
• Studying Earth and Environmental Science? According to UN sources, "Indigenous Peoples' territories encompass 28% of the globe and contain 11% of the world's forests. They are guardians of most of the world's remaining biodiversity... Indigenous People's food systems have high levels of self-sufficiency, ranging from 50% to 80% in food and resource generation." Watch films and playlists from If Not Us, Then Who, a media and storytelling nonprofit that uplifts "voices of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and local leaders as essential stewards of the Earth." They've also curated a list of films made by Indigenous youth.
  
• Indigenous languages all over the world are in danger of being lost, as older members of the community die and younger generations become educated in the official language of their country. UNESCO notes that 40% of the 7,000 languages in the world are endangered. Proclaimed by UNESCO and later adopted by the UN General Assembly, International Mother Language Day (February 21) "preserve(s) linguistic diversity and promote mother tongues." Check out the TED Talk "Indigenous Languages Matter and What We Can Do to Save Them" from linguist Lindsay Morcom, with a particular focus on Canadian First Nations. 
  
• Hear directly from Indigenous people across the country as they share their stories on StoryCorps (always a great civics resource to learn about modern families and people that may have a different background or experience from your own).

What about Columbus Day?

As we share in History Quest: Middle Times, the story is a complicated one and the truth is not one many of us learned when we were kids. The Columbus exchange transformed the world, opening trade routes, bringing foods like tomatoes and peppers to Europe, and introducing pigs and cows to the Americas. But it also meant disease, imprisonment, and death for those who were already here, like the Arawak/Taino people. Visit the National Museum of the American Indian's website for more resources on the Taino and the painful history of Columbus's impact.

Learn more about the debate in this video, "The Columbus Controversy", created for teachers by American School Publishers, a Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Company, in 1992 for the 400th Anniversary of Columbus's arrival.

How Columbus Day became a recognized U.S. holiday is also a winding and complicated story - involving 19th century anti-immigrant violence and lynching of newly arrived Italian-Americans, a President's desire to secure votes, and the complexities of Southern and Eastern European immigrant assimilation. Hear from David Roediger, author of Working Toward Whiteness: How America's Immigrants Became White on NPR.