Quechan Indian Tribe: “No more keeping us silent”
While many Americans will celebrate Columbus Day on Monday, Native Americans, on the other hand, honor the holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day or Indian Days.
Culture and tradition are synonymous with identity.
America was once the Native Americans’ ancestral homeland.
Today, indigenous people make up less than 2% of the population, making it a struggle to keep their culture alive.
Quechan tribal member, Wilford Emerson, said, ” One of the most important things are the songs and the language. That’s really dying out and is one of the important things for the kids to pick up. ”
The Quechan Indian Tribe celebrates its annual Indian Days the weekend before Americans celebrate Columbus Day.
They honor their tribal culture with singing, dancing, arts and craft, and most importantly food.
Arlie Emerson serves up fresh fry bread, a staple of the native people.
Emerson said, ” I used to watch my grandmother make [fry bread] outside because they didn’t have electricity then. We would sit out here with the stove and fire pit. To me, it’s just bringing back our tradition. ”
On Saturday, there will be a parade honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, an unspoken epidemic affecting their community.
In 2007, Quechan Tribal council member Gloria McGee’s sister became one of the thousands of victims.
” There’s never been any record of [ the girls ‘ ] disappearance because of usually the jurisdiction where it happened. The investigation never happened. ”
The lack of communication between state, local, and tribal law enforcement makes it difficult to begin the investigation process.
Wilford Emerson added, ” One of the slogans here is no more keeping us silent. The voices of the women want to be heard. ”
Saturday’s parade starts at 9 am at the Quechan Stomp Grounds.
Other events:
Saturday, October 12th
Dance competition from 12 pm-4 pm
Tug of War competition at 4 pm
Community Dinner at 5 pm
Sunday, October 13th
Horseshoe tournament at 10 am
Volleyball tournament at 11:30 am
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