Coachella honors Indigenous Peoples Day, the first city in the valley to make it a holiday

For decades, many people in the United States have opted to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day as an attempt to stop what they see as commemoration of the oppressive nature of European colonization.

Though Columbus Day is a federal holiday, held the second Monday in October, 27 of the 50 U.S. states, including California, do not observe it or Indigenous Peoples Day.

But some cities in the state, including Los Angeles, Berkeley and San Luis Obispo, have gone on to establish Indigenous Peoples Day as an official holiday.

This year, Coachella will become the first in the Coachella Valley to join them. The change was unanimously approved during a city council meeting in September.

In a presentation to council, City Manager Gabriel Martin noted there are 109 federally recognized tribes in the state, and said the city wished to honor their heritage, including the sovereign indigenous territories in the valley: the Augustine Band of Mission Indians, Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

"The city affirms a willingness to organize and participate in an annual Indigenous (Peoples) Day celebration and activities, and encourages other institutions to recognize the day and promote the wellbeing and growth of the Coachella Valley's indigenous community," Martin said.

He credited Mayor Pro Tem Josephine Gonzalez and Councilmember Megan Beaman Jacinto for "championing efforts" to establish the holiday.

Last week, Gonzalez told The Desert Sun that the change had been years in the making, as she'd often had constituents ask about bringing Indigenous Peoples Day to Coachella.

She said the city had previously met with the Augustine tribe, which runs the Augustine Casino in Coachella, and that everyone had been in alignment about recognizing the holiday. Tribal officials could not be reached for comment.

Gonzalez said that for her, it was important to see those efforts through in order to remain true to history.

"Frankly speaking, I think it's time to celebrate those true native people that were here before they were allegedly 'discovered' by Christopher Columbus," she said

Like Martin, Gonzalez said she hoped others, including surrounding valley cities, will also officially honor Indigenous Peoples Day as "it is the correct thing to do."

During the meeting last month, Beaman Jacinto said the holiday would additionally serve to recognize the Mexican indigenous Purépecha community in the desert. She said Purépecha leaders had expressed support of the resolution and she noted a growing percentage of Coachella's population identifies as both Latino and indigenous, or American Indian.

Though the Latino or Hispanic demographic remained the city's largest ethnic group in the 2020 Census —with 40,421 residents, or 96.4% of the Coachella population— there was a 201% increase in the city's American Indian population, from 290 to 874 people.

"(There's) no better time than now to finally make this official," Beaman Jacinto concluded.

Since it is the first year that Indigenous Peoples Day will be official in Coachella, there was not enough time develop events and festivities to commemorate it, but Martin said the city is "very excited to work with our local tribal communities to organize a celebration for 2023."

Local tribe appreciation

Following the announcement that Indigenous Peoples Day will be celebrated in at least one Coachella Valley city, The Desert Sun reached out to all of the tribes that are local to the valley. Only representatives of the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, in Thermal, and Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, in Twentynine Palms, could be immediately reached.

"It's amazing and it's humbly appreciated, for sure, that our neighbor community of Coachella will be the first ones to step up and recognize this (holiday), although we have a very decent relationship with all the communities down here," said Mary Belardo, the vice chairperson of the Torres-Martinez cultural committee.

Belardo added that Coachella's approach in naming each of the tribes in the valley individually ahead of establishing the holiday was also significant.

"Individual recognition is much more appreciated than just throwing everybody in the same pot and calling us Indians," she said. "We're Cahuilla, we're Sac and Fox, we're Navajo, we're different groups."

Darrell Mike, the chairman of the Twenty-Nine Palms Indians, also expressed appreciation for the change in Coachella, calling it a "hopeful step" which he wishes to see replicated across the nation, "to honor the past, the present and the future."

"As a sovereign nation and government, we want to see this day as more than just a bank holiday, but one that helps our country learn more about its true past," he said.

Specifically, Mike noted indigenous peoples' contributions in the business community, locally and throughout the country, and said part of the significance of the holiday was to honor those commitments to growth and prosperity.

The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians owns and operates the Spotlight 29 Casino located in Coachella.

Steps in other valley cities

Other Coachella Valley cities have taken different steps to honor indigenous communities, despite not officially celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day.

In 2016, Palm Springs declared Sept. 23 Native American Day, specifically to recognize the cultural heritage and legacy of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and how the tribe has shaped the city.

Upon the approval of that holiday, Councilmember Geoff Kors had noted that the city does not celebrate Columbus Day.

More recently, the Indio City Council on Wednesday recognized Indigenous Peoples Day with a proclamation issued by the mayor to increase awareness.

Mayor Waymond Fermon presented the proclamation with a statement, which said in part, "Indigenous Peoples Day is the opportunity to spotlight current injustices as indigenous people have often been forgotten in the development of our country," and also noted appreciation for indigenous people in the city.

While a handful of residents thanked the council for acknowledging the indigenous community, some additionally urged the city to make Indigenous Peoples Day an official holiday in Indio.

"Thank you for this proclamation. Words cannot describe, as an indigenous woman of color, what this means," said Gabriela Armenta, a resident and the co-founder and director of Danza Azteca Citlaltonac, a nonprofit which focuses on teaching the community about Mexica/Aztec culture with traditional ceremonial dance, songs, art, prayer and talking circles.

She added: "I'm still asking the City of Indio to continue this conversation. ... I would like for us to continue pushing forward to change the day from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, a day that helps correct the whitewashed American history that has glorified Europeans like Christopher Columbus, who have committed violence against indigenous communities."

Jonathan Becerra, who is running opposite Councilmember Elaine Holmes to represent District 3, said in a public comment during the meeting that the name of the city — meaning 'Indian' in Spanish — "should have made the decision obvious."

"More importantly, we share space in this valley with multiple tribes (and) it's incumbent on us to take every opportunity to showcase respect and understanding," Becerra added.

Which history to commemorate?

Toward the end of the meeting on Wednesday, Indio Mayor Pro Tem Oscar Ortiz asked for consensus from council members to eventually eliminate Columbus Day in the city, but received pushback from some.

Councilmember Lupe Ramos Amith noted Columbus Day is a federal holiday and said she would view its removal as "eliminating history." Instead, she suggested establishing a separate holiday for indigenous people, similar to Palm Springs.

Holmes agreed that doing away with Columbus Day could be seen as erasing history for future generations, which she said need to know "the good, the bad, the ugly" of it.

Ortiz responded: "The concept that we'd be erasing history, I think that's inaccurate. Just because it's history, doesn't mean that we celebrate it, right? We don't get a day off for the things that Hitler accomplished. ... It's our choice here to celebrate Columbus Day, and it's not something I see should be celebrated."

City Manager Bryan Montgomery said the decision would be complicated for several reasons.

"We won't be able to change federal law," he said. "We also have it embedded within our memorandum of understanding with all of our labor units to be that day. We renegotiate these labor agreements every few years, but as it sits now, it'd be very difficult to accomplish."

Indio City Hall will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley, including the cities of Indio and Coachella. Reach her at eliana.perez@thedesertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella honors Indigenous Peoples Day, a first in Coachella Valley