Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day 2022
Today (October 20, 2022) is Indigenous Peoples' Day, which recognizes and celebrates the histories and cultures of Native Americans and those Indigenous to Turtle Island. It began in 1977 as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day and gained its first recognition as a national U.S. holiday in 2021—nearly four and a half decades later.
Memphis, Tennessee and Seeding Success are located within the historic Chickasaw Homeland.
"Map of Chickasaw Treaty Cessions and Removal Routes of Chickasaw Indians" from Chickasaw.net
During the period of "Indian Removal," or U.S. policy which forced violent displacement of self-governing Native tribes from their ancestral homelands in the 1800s, the Chickasaw were forced West of the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears.
Today, the Chickasaw Nation treaty territory encompasses all or parts of 13 counties in south-central Oklahoma. You can visit the official website of Chickasaw Nation at Chickasaw.net and learn about contemporary Chickasaw culture at Chickasaw.tv.
Today, Indigenous people of many different origins and tribal statuses live in Memphis. Native RITES is a local organization that has collected many resources for education, advocacy, and activism on their website, ntvrites.org.
Recommended readings for non-Native folk: