The holiday National Indigenous People’s Day honors Native Americans while also commemorating their rich culture and traditions. It is also a day where their contributions to this world are remembered. To celebrate, Indigenous Americans perform two popular traditional dances on the street: the grass dance and hoop dance, and they sing songs about their ancestors and spirits. Such songs allow for the sharing of an underappreciated culture with the public. Furthermore, natives take the opportunity to protest on this day due to the large amount of violence targeting Indigenous women. Specifically, the Indigenous American community is especially vulnerable to discrimination ranging from slurs to harassment especially in the workplace.  

American citizens must remember that Native Americans were the initial inhabitants and citizens of the United States. Native Americans invented various tools and technologies to advance the human species, especially in the medical field. According to the U.S. Mission of Italy, “The world can thank Native Americans — the Iroquois and Seneca tribes, in particular — for inventing baby bottles and baby formula, important to infants’ health when breast milk is not available.” Additionally, according to Patrick J Kiger from the History Channel, “Native Americans invented syringes.” Such innovation in the medical field proves that Native Americans should receive far more credit for their advancement of human civilization. 

Society must expand their knowledge about the Indigenous community to understand the significant value of their culture and history to the world. There are countless ways of doing this which include reading autobiographies of Native Americans, understanding their viewpoints, learning more about their culture, listening to artists such as Louis Ballard, and respecting them for who they are instead of shunning them. 

This ultimately brings up the question: What does or can Radnor do to celebrate this profound culture? Well, at Radnor High School, students are taught about some indigenous tribes in the AP U.S. history class and in the 9th grade government & economics class which is a great way of spreading awareness about Native Americans. Radnor’s attention to Native American culture is quite commendable, especially considering how in some other schools, indigenous people are kept out of the school textbooks. 

Still, there are many more ways Radnor can bring appreciation to Native Americans. Our school community can be open to Native Americans and begin to host a festivity for Indigenous People’s Day. If there are festivities such as potlucks to celebrate multiculturalism, hispanic heritage month, and world language month then shouldn’t there be some sort of celebration for Indigenous People as well? Native Americans have suffered far too much throughout the years and the least they deserve is acceptance and celebration of their rich diverse culture. 

So, besides dressing up for Halloween, you must also inform yourself about Native Americans.