Great Barrington — As drama goes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a moment at a Great Barrington Selectboard meeting that surpasses this one.
Randy Weinstein and Gwendolyn VanSant of the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee appeared before the board on Monday to ask town officials to consider recognizing the second Monday of October, the day on which Columbus Day is traditionally observed, as Indigenous Peoples Day. Click here to see the resolution.
VanSant said the committee was “proposing to honor the people that were here first and begin a relationship of repair and healing.” In considering a proclamation, the committee asked itself, “What does being indigenous mean?”
That’s where Steven Good Man came in. Good Man is a Native American who lives in the Berkshires. With the help of his support animal, an enormous St. Bernard, Good Man gave a moving first-hand account of what it’s like to be indigenous.
See video below of Randy Weinstein and Gwendolyn VanSant of the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee explaining the genesis of the proclamation and Native American Steven Good Man describing what it’s like to be indigenous:
“Indigenous is not a skin color or a nationality,” he said. “It’s a way of life.”
Not long ago, Good Man was at a school with Klein and they observed children sitting in class and singing songs about Christopher Columbus.
“And I’m sitting at the table … I started crying,” Good Man recalled. “The little girls asked me what’s wrong. In 2019, I should not have to explain to the little girls why I’m crying.”
“We would not have a football team named the Blackskins,” Good Man said, referring to the Washington Redskins of the NFL. “Not one of us would accept this and as a community. … We would take a stand for our ancestors. Everyone of us is responsible for that still existing.”
At one point, Good Man began singing an indigenous tune. His voice became so loud that his St. Bernard began to howl and, in effect, joined Good Man in song.
Good Man asked if the selectboard members had any questions. None of them did. All voted to approve the nonbinding proclamation recognizing indigenous peoples on the holiday otherwise known as Columbus Day.
“This was a real milestone in Great Barrington history,” Weinstein told The Edge. Weinstein noted that the only other two towns in western Massachusetts to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day are Northampton and Pittsfield.
Weinstein said he was grateful the proclamation passed so peacefully. Last year in Pittsfield, after months of debate, the school committee passed a resolution to change Columbus Day on the school calendar to Indigenous Peoples Day.
That debate had prompted objections from Italian-American groups, among others. One resident even filed a lawsuit against the school committee, alleging “pain, suffering and emotional distress.” Proponents of the measure had argued that Columbus’ brutality toward indigenous peoples has been well documented.
#NEW: Jacob’s Pillow fire, what we know:
–#Becket firefighters arrived around 7:20AM
-Fire started in Doris Duke theater
-Getting water is biggest issue
-No injuries
-Multiple fire departments involved
-Still investigating cause@WWLP22News pic.twitter.com/gJR67vncdV— Katrina Kincade (@KatrinaKNews) November 17, 2020
