S. 16-1 a Resolution Calling for Tufts University to Recognize the Historical and Present

S. 16-1 A Resolution Calling for Tufts University to Recognize the Historical and Present Day Significance of Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in Place of “Columbus Day”

1 WHEREAS on December 6, 2015, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate unanimously 2 passed S.15-4 A Resolution to Recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in Place of “Columbus Day”;1

3 WHEREAS as of February 12, 2016, 47 Tufts student organizations have publicly signed on in 4 support of this resolution;2

5 WHEREAS as of February 12, 2016, more than 1,100 Tufts students, faculty, parents, alumni, 6 and community members have signed a petition in support of this resolution;3

7 WHEREAS on February 2, 2016, Brown University faculty voted to rename its “Fall Weekend 8 [formerly known as ‘Columbus Day’ at Brown University] to Indigenous People’s Day” to 9 “celebrate Native American culture and history”;4

10 WHEREAS according to “Diplomas Count 2013,” an annual report released by Education Week, 11 roughly 51 percent of Native American students in the class of 2010 earned a high school 12 diploma, a decline from a peak of 54 percent in 2008;5

13 WHEREAS according to Pew Research Center, 1 in 4 Native Americans and Alaska Natives 14 lived in poverty as of 2012;6

15 WHEREAS among those who identify as Native American or Alaska Native as their only race, 16 the poverty rate was 29.1 percent in 2012;7

17 WHEREAS according to a 1999-2011 study conducted by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal 18 Justice, Native Americans comprise 1.9 percent of all police killings, though they make up 0.8

1 1 http://senate.tufts.edu/senate/resolutions 2 2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SW6mYAZXAH7JryEDByEHCgw5-59WwdoXMB8hh2M9OOo/edit 3 3 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VNWOBfKp3V-gPWb67CkQ274qSoy3tBh2OgMMnIeoDQQ/viewform 4 4 https://news.brown.edu/articles/2016/02/indigenous 5 5 http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2013/06/06/graduation-rates-dropping-among-native- 6 american-students 7 6 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/13/1-in-4-native-americans-and-alaska-natives-are-living-in- 8 poverty 9 7 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/13/1-in-4-native-americans-and-alaska-natives-are-living-in- 10 poverty 19 percent of the US population, making Native Americans the racial group most likely to be killed 20 by law enforcement;8

21 WHEREAS according to the Center for Native American Youth, suicide rates among Native 22 Americans more than double that of the general population, and “native teens experience the 23 highest rate of suicide of any population group in the United States” due to racial trauma and 24 underfunded federal programs;9 therefore;

25 BE IT RESOLVED that the TCU Senate acknowledges that the historical oppression of Native 26 Americans in the United States continues to exist today in the form of discriminatory public 27 policy and criminal justice practices;

28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate acknowledges the role that Tufts University 29 plays in perpetuating the oppression of Native peoples, including but not limited to, its continued 30 recognition of “Columbus Day”;

31 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate recognizes that this change is an active 32 decision to shift the institutional and academic consciousness of Tufts University to one that 33 acknowledges the connections between the oppressed histories and present day oppression of 34 Indigenous peoples;

35 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate urges Tufts University to acknowledge its 36 responsibility as an educational institution, which places great importance on civic engagement, 37 to promote the understanding of present day oppression of Indigenous peoples of the Americas 38 and its role in it;

39 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate urges the faculty of the Tufts University 40 Undergraduate School of Arts & Sciences and Undergraduate School of Engineering to vote in 41 favor of recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day in place of “Columbus Day”;

42 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the TCU Senate continues to urge all schools within Tufts 43 University to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in place of “Columbus Day” on the second 44 Monday of every October.

Respectfully submitted by Parker Breza, A19, Anna Del Castillo, A18, Jacqueline Chen, A19, Benya Kraus, A18, Gauri Seth, A17 on February 15, 2016.

Passes 23-0-1

11 8 http://www.cjcj.org/news/8113 12 9 http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/images/Fast%20Facts.pdf