LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For retired Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn, Indigenous Peoples Day is an opportunity for learning.
"Someone today may have just thought, 'This is Indigenous Peoples Day. Why are we doing this? What does this mean?'," she said.
The Kentucky House and Senate adopted a resolution in 2021 declaring the second Monday in October "Indigenous Peoples Day". It's meant to celebrate and honor the indigenous people of Kentucky, recognizing their contributions.
"For me, personally, it says that I'm valued and what I have to offer and what my people have to offer is important, but bigger than that, I think it's really valuable for people that don't think about Native Americans. There's really no reason that many people should, but when you give it a day, I think that people start to pay attention," Red Corn said.
Red Corn is a member of the Osage Nation. She moved to Kentucky as a child, but regularly goes to Oklahoma to participate in activities with the rest of the members. It's an important part of her family identity.
"It's just great to know that I'm a part of something that is unique to this group of people. I think that's really what everybody wants is to belong to something," she said.
Indigenous Peoples Day is the same day people observe Columbus Day — an opportunity to reframe how people view the arrival of European people to North America and to celebrate the people who had lived here long before, and acknowledge the impact colonization had on them.
"I think it's probably a good thing to redirect, rewrite the narrative to give people something else to be interested in and learn about," Red Corn said. "People that want to celebrate Columbus Day may still do that, and certainly for Italian-Americans, it's probably a very important day, but I think it's a recognition that Native history is American history,"
Red Corn hopes to see Indigenous Peoples Day flourish. More awareness and curiosity, she says, is a good thing.
"The more that we know about anything, the better human beings we are," Red Corn said.
