Tuesday is the Fourth of July — a holiday typically marked by fireworks, barbecue and the sight of the American flag on everything from clothing to home decór. It’s the day we, as residents of the United States, celebrate our nation’s independence from the British monarchy and the ratification of the Declaration of Independence.
But that same document that set into motion the great American experiment also refers to Native Americans, the first stewards of this land, as “merciless Indian savages.”
“[T]he reality is that the United States of America exists because this land was colonized by Europeans who used a Doctrine of Discovery to dehumanize, steal from, enslave and even commit cultural genocide against [I]ndigenous peoples from both the “New World” and Africa,” Mark Charles wrote for URL Media partner Native News Online.
It’s a complicated history that requires us to recognize that the nation’s founding was at the expense of the Indigenous population, their cultures and land. From the very beginning, our nation’s forefathers worked to erase Native Americans from the narrative of America — banning cultural traditions, disrupting religious practices, destroying sacred objects and withholding of treaty rations.
It’s a legacy that writer Alastair Lee Bitsóí (Diné) says informs his choice not to celebrate the holiday.
“I do not celebrate America’s so-called Independence Day because it is a day of erasure, colonization and assimilation of sovereign Indigenous Nations, Tribes and Pueblos, who continue to endure and persist at all odds,” Bitsóí told URL Media in an email.
“Knowing how every effort to erase my cultural identity and connection to Mother Earth and Father Sky is founded on this so-called holiday is a counter-narrative that needs to be told every year during this time, and I am so happy to not celebrate the awful meaning of July 4th.”
Other Native Americans have celebrations surrounding July 4 that have nothing to do with Independence Day.
In Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, the Cáuigù (Kiowa) people celebrate in unity with one another, and pray for prosperity and continued healing. In Arlee, Montana, families take the day off to be in community with one another.
In 2013, and again in 2020, Smithsonian Magazine asked Native people in the U.S. how they planned to spend the holiday. Many said they use the time off to connect with one another and enjoy the richness of their lives. Some partake in lighting fireworks because they enjoy the way they look; others simply enjoy a quiet evening at home eating traditional foods.
However, in the wake of more recent landmark Supreme Court rulings — one which upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act and the other that stripped away the water rights of Navajo Nation to the Colorado River — it’s clear that while we, as a nation, have made progress in how we treat our Native populations, we still have a ways to go in honoring the full rights of Tribes as sovereign nations.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Fourth of July. Personally, it’s not so much about the founding of our nation as it is the potential of our future. We have the ability to make this nation one that celebrates our differences, supports communities harmed by our nation’s past and current policies, and uplifts the voices of people who have been silenced for far too long.
So this weekend, I challenge you to imagine what that future could look like for you and then find one simple step you can take to bring it to fruition.
