Whose day? Cook County struggles over honoring native people, Columbus

When Grand Portage Tribal Councilman John Morrin approached Cook County Commissioner Frank Moe this fall about proclaiming Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples' Day, Moe thought it was a no-brainer.

"It's an obvious thing for us to do here in Cook County," Moe said. "We have Grand Portage in our county, these are our fellow citizens who have asked this of us. So I said, 'Yeah, OK, no problem, I'll do it,' not really thinking this was controversial."

Instead, commissioners questioned why another date was needed when the county already recognizes Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

"What would this day do for you, by having that Monday recognized?" Commissioner Ginny Storlie asked at a Sept. 29 meeting. "Would you do anything special? Would you have a special powwow?"

Commissioner Garry Gamble objected to replacing a holiday recognizing Italian-Americans. "I am all for creating a day to celebrate our indigenous people," he said. "But in making a day that says, let's take away one's opportunity to recognize its roots and heritage, and supplant it, I have a problem with that."

Eventually the board, which does not include any Native Americans, rejected the resolution on a 3-2 vote. What followed was a public outcry from a county where Native Americans make up 9 percent of the population.

Today, Columbus Day, the board will meet to reconsider. But however members vote, the controversy may not ebb.

Moe, whose county district includes the Grand Portage reservation, says the hardest part was watching the frustration of the nine Ojibwe Cook County High School students who brought the resolution to the board.

"And to see them walk out of the county board room, and one of them said, just under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear, 'Well, what's the point anyway?'" Moe recalled. "These kids are engaging in the political process, they believe in the possibility of change, and then their elected officials just turn them away like that."

Board Chair Heidi Doo-Kirk apologized for how the vote was handled. But she says the resolution should have been brought to the board months ago to hash out details.

Since Cook County doesn't currently recognize Columbus Day, Doo-Kirk was concerned the resolution could have legal or fiscal implications

"And so I've got all these questions running through my mind. I'm the board chair. I'm supposed to facilitate, not interject, and so I'm stuck," she said. "And frankly, when you get in an emotional situation, you say things, and they sound incredibly stupid. So I said things that came out that turned a bad situation worse."

Later, at the commission's next meeting, dozens of people packed the board room. Sue Hakes was among several who urged board members to reconsider their decision, telling the board, "Don't come down on the wrong side of history. Be courageous. Do the right thing."

Other Minnesota cities have replaced Columbus Day. Several years ago Duluth began observing Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday of October. Minneapolis and Red Wing approved similar changes last year.

Since the board vote in Cook, the Cook County School District and the Mayor of Grand Marais have both signed proclamations naming the second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples' Day. The Grand Marais City Council plans a vote on the change this week. The Grand Portage Tribal Council has also passed a similar resolution and formally requested the County Board to make the change.

The Cook County Board expects to take up the issue at 2 p.m. Tribal members are planning a rally and drum circle outside the courthouse.

However, two of the commissioners who voted against the initial resolution cannot attend, including Garry Gamble, who doesn't think a name change will help bring people together.

"You could pass a proclamation," he said, adding it "would seem like a symbolic token, never realize the substance of what you hoped for."

Still, the students who proposed the initial resolution say it's more than a token gesture. And Morrin, who first approached Moe about creating Indigenous Peoples' Day, said a vote in support of the proclamation could have long-lasting impacts.

"That will really empower a lot of young native kids, that yes, we can get institutions to hear us, listen to us," he said.