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For Immediate Release: American Indian Movement of Colorado, and Transform Columbus Day Alliance Calls on Denver Communities to Mobilize for Indigenous Liberation & Solidarity with Standing Rock

AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT OF COLORADO & TRANSFORM COLUMBUS DAY ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE THE FOUR DIRECTIONS ALL NATIONS MARCH & RALLY IN HONOR OF TROYLYNN STAR YELLOW WOOD

From Standing Rock to Bear Butte, Devils Tower, Oak Flat, Black Mesa, the San Francisco Peaks, Desert Rock, Tar Sands, Mauna Kea, and hundreds of other locations of spiritual significance, the life and death struggle of the original nations and peoples of the so-called Americas continues in 2016. The racist idea-system of domination, exploitation and environmental degradation in the name of infinite greed was established through the Christian Doctrine of Discovery after the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The celebration of the Columbus Day Holiday is a symptom of the imagined belief that the illegal invaders of this continent, primarily European colonists, inherited a divine right to violently control and politically disenfranchise the ancient and sophisticated societies that were born of Turtle Island ("North America"), and Abya Yala ("the Americas"). The oppressive legacy of Columbus does not end with Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala, but extends to the descendants of African slaves whose ancestors were terrorized, captured, raped and stolen from their homelands to be bought and sold as property. Christopher Columbus personally established and profited from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and we see the continued oppression of our Black sisters and brothers in the U.S. as a direct consequence of said slavery. 

This year the American Indian Movement and Transform Columbus Day Alliance honor Representative Joe Salazar for authoring, sponsoring and ushering in HB 16-1135 to change the name of the Columbus Day Holiday in Colorado to Indigenous Peoples Day. His consciousness of our Peoples history and marginalization is heroic. We are also grateful to Representative Su Ryden and Representative Susan Lontine for supporting the bill; their stances of courage in the face of racism have not gone unnoticed in our communities.

Additionally, we honor Councilman Paul D. Lopez for introducing and leading the anticipated passage of a bill to declare the second Monday of October to be a holiday, to be known as "Indigenous Peoples' Day" in the City and County of Denver. 

Inversely, we are disdained and disappointed with Representative Mike Foote, Representative Dianne Primavera, Representative Max Tyler, Representative Stephen Humphrey, Representative Tim Leonard, Representative Patrick Neville, and Representative Cole Wist who all voted against the HB 16-1135, effectively killing it and preserving the systems of white supremacy that Columbus represents to many communities-of-color.

We call on our non-Native allies to march with us this year, and to come out in support of future legislation to repeal the Columbus Day Holiday, as well as all movements of Indigenous Resistance.

SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2016, MEET at 11:30 AM, STEP OFF at 12:30 PM:

NORTH DIRECTION meets at Cleo Parker Robinson School of Dance 

(119 Park Ave West), WEAR RED

EAST DIRECTION meets at Cheesman Park

(12th Ave & Franklin St), WEAR YELLOW

SOUTH DIRECTION meets at Four Winds American Indian Council

(201 W 5th Ave), WEAR WHITE

WEST DIRECTION meets at Auraria Campus

(St Cajetan's Cathedral) WEAR BLACK

DESTINATION: RALLY at CAPITOL at 1:30 PM, with KEYNOTE SPEAKER PHYLLIS YOUNG (Standing Rock Sioux Nation)

Following rally, meal provided at Four Winds American Indian Council at 4 PM

https://www.facebook.com/Transform-Columbus-Day-Denver 

www.transformcolumbus day.org

https://www.gofundme.com/transformC-dayCO

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Tessa McLean, American Indian Movement of Colorado

720-220-0075