Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Celebrated on Turtle Island on the second Monday in October, Indigenous Peoples’ Day will take place this year on October 10 to honor and celebrate Indigenous peoples’ traditions and cultures. What started as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day in Berkeley, CA, is now a growing celebration to recenter Indigenous People. Smithsonian Magazine tells us, “To date, 14 states—Alabama, Alaska, Hawai’i, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin—and the District of Columbia, more than 130 cities, and growing numbers of school districts celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of or in addition to Columbus Day.” The goal is to commemorate Native American history and promote Native American culture. While this is definitely a positive change, there is more to be done to shift focus away from Columbus, a so-called discoverer of “new” lands, and onto the Native peoples who have always been here, are here, and will continue to be here well into the future. This is our family’s written land acknowledgment. It’s changed several times over the years as we learn new information and as our children can contribute more. But land acknowledgments are only a start, our family supports Indigenous-led organizations and hopes #landback will happen within our lifetime. P.S. For some Indigenous peoples, Turtle Island refers to the continent of North America. The name comes from various Indigenous oral histories that tell stories of a turtle that holds the world on its back. To learn more, checkout my blog post (link in bio)