If you had to pick one city in America to have an “Indigenous Peoples Day,” Oklahoma City seems like it would be a solid choice.
Not only does “Oklahoma” mean “Red People” in Choctaw, but thanks to the brutal forced removal of American Indian tribes to what is now Oklahoma in the 1800s, our state and city has a close association with Native American tribes, their people, their culture, and perhaps most importantly, their casinos. In fact, Oklahoma has the second-largest Native American population in the country, comprising about 8% of our state’s population.
Knowing those basic facts that I remember from Oklahoma History class, you would think that coming up with a day for Oklahoma City, the capital of Oklahoma, to symbolically honor the history and contributions that native peoples have made to our culture and society both before and after it was colonized by blood-thirsty Europeans would be a pretty easy task.
Sadly, Oklahoma is the place where “pretty easy tasks" go to die. Yesterday, The OKC City Council voted twice on whether or not to add an “Indigenous Peoples” day to the calendar. It was voted down both times, because council members couldn't agree on when to have it.
Seriously.