Thousands of people celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City on Monday. This year’s theme, “Sovereignty in Motion,” highlighted the vibrancy of Indigenous communities today and showed how Native people embody movement. The event included a tipi-raising demonstration by Riverside Indian School students, a chalk mural contest and live music with dancing.
Oklahoma City Mayor and Osage citizen David Holt also addressed the crowd, celebrating the city council’s recent unanimous decision to formally designate every second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. Holt said that makes the recognition “mayor-proof.”
Kelli Mosteller, executive director of the First Americans Museum, said the designation means advocates no longer have to rally each year for a proclamation.
“I would do Indigenous Peoples Day, whether there was a mayoral proclamation or not, but to have it recognized by the city government and the city that you call home, there’s something special about that,” Mosteller said. “And for a place like FAM in the downtown center of an urban area, it really matters that we don’t get erased.”…