For many Americans, Monday is well known to be Columbus Day – a day we celebrate the Spanish explorer's discovery of the Americas.
But millions of Native Americancs are now using the day to celebrate their own.
NSU's Indigenous Peoples Day proclamation was made Monday...a move many people on campus and across Oklahoma was overdue.
But they believe there's still more work to be done.
“We have a voice and we want to share it,” said student Jennifer Turner.
Turner is Comanche...and the first Miss Native American NSU.
“I love to sew, I love to read and I love to play sports with everyone,” she said.
But Monday, she lived her heritage – showing the world what it means to be Native American.
“It gives us a chance to kinda put ourselves out there versus kinda being left in history alone and just kinda left on a page in the corner somewhere,” said NSU student Jacob Chavez.
Today's celebration was designed to send a message.
“It's not fair to the non-indigenous people of Oklahoma not to know its own history,” said Native activist Casey Camp-Horinek.
That message is echoed in longtime elders who want to put the focus of the holiday on tribal members, not someone they consider an enemy.
“When you see major institutions like Northeastern Oklahoma University also falling in line with that, it tells me the educational process is also lifting itself to a new age of truth,” said Camp-Horinek.
Without a statewide recognition from Oklahoma in the works, the fight isn't over.
“With so many tribes and this being Indian Country, I feel like we should've made that step a while ago,” said student Lizzie Lightning.
But several, like Turner, are confident that time will come.
“I feel like they're missing out on something very important that belongs to Oklahoma,” she said.
Other colleges like Oklahoma University also celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.
Cities like Anadarko and Oklahoma City have either recognized the holiday, or discussed changes to Columbus Day in the past.
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