A Proclamation by
The Board of Evergreen Community Charter School
WHEREAS, American Indians, who have inhabited this continent since long before their first contact with English settlers, shared their knowledge of the land and its resources willingly, and have continued to play a vital role in the development of the local communities, the state of North Carolina, and the nation; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina is home to more than 122,000 American Indians, and has eight historic tribes: Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan, and these tribes are legally recognized by the State of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs was created in 1971 by the North Carolina General Assembly to advocate for local, regional, and national American Indian concerns; and
WHEREAS, our state has recently enjoyed a positive relationship with the Indigenous peoples of North Carolina, and continues to grow in our shared progress; we honor and respect the heritage, and the many cultural and economic contributions of our American Indian tribes and citizens; and
WHEREAS, despite this relationship, there are disparities in the fair treatment of our American Indian tribes, and insufficient acknowledgment of the historic destruction of our Indigenous cultures; in an effort to provide a more accurate record of United States history, representatives from 120 Indigenous nations at the First Continental Conference On 500 Years Of Indian Resistance unanimously passed a resolution to transform Columbus Day into an occasion to recognize the contributions and plight of Indigenous Americans; and
WHEREAS, the idea of Indigenous People's Day was first proposed in 1977 by the International Conference on Discrimination Against the Indigenous Population in the Americas, a delegation sponsored by First Nations leaders to the United Nations; and
WHEREAS, the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs encourages all citizens to acknowledge the historic sacrifices of Indigenous peoples, and recognize their contributions to the emergence and development of the state, the nation, the free world, and the global economy;
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Evergreen Community Charter School Board of Directors, do hereby proclaim the second Monday in October as INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY at Evergreen in an effort to recognize the contributions and importance to society of the Indigenous peoples, and educate people to create a better future.