Australia Day

[waitingman]

Yesterday (26th January) was Australia Day, marking the day in 1788 the first European settlers turned up in Sydney Harbour, planted a flag & got down to business. This, of course, didn't go down too well with, or subsequently for, the indigenous people who have received the short & occasionally sharp end of the stick ever since

Certainly in my lifetime, there has been an increasingly visible & audible protest movement against the national day itself & its callous celebration of what the indigenous people refer to as 'Invasion Day'. Leaving aside the fiercely argued cases on both sides for a moment, I'm curious about what happens in other countries with similar origins - most notably the USA. How do the Native Americans feel about days like Thanksgiving, or Founders Day etc..? Is there, or has there ever been a protest movement about the whitewashing of indigenous history, similar to what I've seen over the last few decades?

Comments

[basefinder]

As you've likely noticed on your visits in the American west, many Native Americans still live as second class citizens on reservations. The influx of "casino money" in recent years has probably helped some, while the problems inherent with "new money" also take their toll. Protesting against the terms of written history? We'll hear about that occasionally, but more often we'll hear of protests against a dangerous oil pipeline laid across Indian lands without adequate review or permission. Treaty? But that was a century ago, you certainly can't hold Uncle Sam to those terms now can you? Step aside for the bulldozers!

Our First Peoples are still pushed down enough that Maslow's heirarchy limits the protests to the more urgent needs at any given time.