CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Native Americans and community activists celebrated Indigenous Peoples' Day on Monday at Pottawattomie Park.
The Pottawattomie were one of the Native American tribal groups that lived around the Great Lakes and the city park that bears their name is in Rogers Park.
The Pottawattomie were one of the Native American tribal groups that lived around the Great Lakes — and the city park that bears their name is in Rogers Park.
WBBM Newsradio spoke with Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, a leader of the effort on the county level to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. The effort stalled last week.
“I’ll be very direct here — that people are afraid of those old-fashioned voices that want to hold onto a racist ideology,” Johnson said. “And I’m not afraid. I’m not. And I’m calling on my colleagues and I’m calling on our entire state to no longer be afraid.”
The move to scrap Columbus Day has been opposed by some Italian American groups — and by County Commissioner Stanley Moore, who is descended from slaves owned by the Choctaw tribe.
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