Chants of ‘Take it down!’ Vs. John Phillips Sousa
By JUAN ESPINOSA
The Indigenous spirit of Turtle Island visited Pueblo’s Mesa Junction on what was formerly known as Columbus Day this month.
The spirit came in the form of a peaceful demonstration that disrupted a formal tribute to Columbus that has continued despite Columbus Day being abolished in 2020 as a state holiday and replaced with Mother Cabrini Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday in October..
Turtle Island is what many indigenous people call the North American Continent
The disruption came in the form of sound, both sides attempted to drown out the other — the small continent of mostly Italian-Americans and public officials had a powerful PA system and recordings of John Phillip Sousa music on their side and the mostly indigenous protestors had multiple drums, chanting and native dancers on theirs.
It was a battle of the decibels and the anti-Columbus protesters scored first by arriving earlier than they had in the past. Usually, the protesters arrived after the ceremony had began. This time, the Italian faction were just arriving and setting up when Natives came marching in. The police officers also seemed a little off guard.
By the way the barricades had been arranged, it was obvious that the protesters were to be confined to small area at the end of the block, out of sight of the speakers’ platform. The group of more than 100 protesters paused briefly in the designated area and then began marching around the edge of the barriers until they were in direct line-of-sight to the stage. Of course this was not the plan. Instantly, the Italian faction scurried to the police officers pointing and complaining that Natives were not following the plan.
After numerous little meetings, the protesters gave up a little ground, but refused to be pushed back to the little space at the end of the block. Because the protesters outnumbered the Columbus celebrants, being spread out was an advantage — signs and drums could be strategically distributed for maximum effectiveness.
The signs addressed many issues, for example one was a poster of a beautiful young indigenous woman wearing a shawl with photographs of hundreds of Indian women printed on it. Below the images reads, “Remembering our missing and murdered Indigenous women.”
Other messages were: “‘Our work was to ravage, kill and destroy,’ C. Columbus,” “Support all indigenous resistance,” “Colonization kills,” “Take it Down!” “Free Palestine,” “Bring Down Colum-bust: and “COLUM-BUST MUST GO!”
The extremely loud Sousa music mixed with the drums, and chants created a surrealistic din of sound. Even though no one on either side could hear what was being said, the celebration continued. After a painful hour of competing noise, the official program ended with Sousa, being played even louder.
\When the Italians finally packed up their amps and speakers, the spirit of Turtle Island arrived in the form of numerous indigenous speakers, dancing, drumming and the smell of burning sage.
“We are indigenous and we are fighting back. We will never never stop. For seven generations we have always been here and we will be here for the next seven generations,” A young woman in plaid shirt and blue skirt told the protesters who remained.
Sky Morris, a Denver member of the American Indian Movement, talked about summoning deceased leaders. “We cannot abandon them because without our relatives bringing justice and awareness, we couldn’t have that thought. We keep going and going and we can call on Dennis Banks, Russell Means to come and be with us. People like Regina Brave, Phyllis Young and my daughter Thunder Hawk.”
After the drummers sang the AIM Victory Song, Sky, explained its significance. “That is not a song to take lightly. It’s an empowerment song. It is not a song to sing casually. You’re calling on AIM people, you’re calling the resistance in. So I ask you who sing that song to just be conscious of that because we are calling people like Ramon Yellow Thunder to be with us. So as song keepers, people who are just learning our ways, songs are not to be sung casually.
Breeanna Guerra Rodriguez, one of the organizers of Monday’s protest, said we need to make protest a way of life. “We need to carry this into our everyday lives. Our existence is resistance and we have to honor our ancestors. Our mayor has made being houseless a crime and it is not a crime to be houseless. There were no unhoused people prior to 1492. Colonialism has caused people to be disconnected to the spirit. We know that this disconnection is what drives our battles with substance abuse; our battles with mental health. All of these factors, capitalism included, they are why there is helplessness. We look to help our unhoused neighbors.”
“I want to thank you all for coming out today. This is where our power lies within our love for one another; within our love for creation.”
According to a flyer circulated on social media, the Oct. 14 protest was declared “Indigenous Peoples’ Day — Decolonization for Liberation.” In addition to Breeana Guerra Rodriguez, other organizers included Liz Phebus and Jordan Mecham. Many of the newer protesters were joined by veteran protesters who have been involved since 1992.
During the three decades before the abolition of Columbus holiday, those who came to the statue to honor the myth were met with loud protests. The focus was always on abolishing the holiday, according to the late Rita J. Martinez, who organized those protests for three decades.
Months after the holiday was abolished, George Floyd was killed and Black Lives Matter demonstrations erupted across the country. Pueblo was no exception. The Mesa Junction statue again became the target of BLM groups. Dozens of Columbus statues were torn down around the country, vandalized or removed by government officials.
In Pueblo, protesters clashed with a pro-Columbus group embedded with members of the Proud Boys and Sons of Silence motorcycle gang over the statue. Many people wore and openly carried firearms, but they was no gunfire. Local television news frequently use footage of the fist fights, pushing and shouting in reports about the peaceful protests that followed.
After that violent clash, Martinez reorganized the protest committee and began a weekly protest on Sundays for over 20 Sundays. During that time period, only a handful of protesters demonstrated at the former-Columbus Day ceremonies.
Great article. Thank you.