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City of San Leandro <br />Meeting Date: June 28, 2021 <br />Staff Report <br />Agenda Section:File Number:21-406 ITEMS REMOVED FROM <br />CONSENT CALENDAR <br />Agenda Number:8.S. <br />TO:City Council <br />FROM:Fran Robustelli <br />City Manager <br />BY: <br />FINANCE REVIEW:Not Applicable <br />TITLE:Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution to Declare the <br />Second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Lieu of Columbus <br />Day <br />SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />Consistent with the policy prioritization exercise outcomes that were identified by the City Council as <br />part of its Saturday, February 6, 2021 annual planning session, staff presents for the City Council’s <br />consideration the attached draft City Council Resolution. If adopted, it would declare the second Monday <br />of October each year as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in lieu of Columbus Day in San Leandro. <br />BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS <br />Columbus Day was established by order of President Roosevelt in 1937 and is officially recognized by <br />some cities and states around the country on the second Monday of October. However, critics of this <br />holiday note that Columbus Day does not provide an opportunity for the public to reflect on the <br />colonization of North America by Europeans that led to the suppression, forced assimilation, and death <br />of many indigenous peoples whose lifestyles and culture previously flourished in the Americas for <br />thousands of years. According to available online sources, the official designation of Indigenous <br />Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the United Nations <br />International Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas. Here in <br />California, the Governor first proclaimed Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019, as a means of celebrating <br />the indigenous peoples who call California home and who have survived and thrived in the face of the <br />significant challenges that shaped California’s past, present, and future. <br />In recent years, California has also taken action to convey ancestral lands back to tribes for <br />preservation of cultural resources, reassessed geographic place names, statues, and monuments to <br />better reflect our state’s values, and established a Truth and Healing Council to embark upon the <br />journey of healing together. <br />If the City Council were to adopt the attached resolution, it would declare the second Monday in October <br />as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in lieu of Columbus Day. Such an action would also serve to honor the <br />Page 1 City of San Leandro Printed on 6/23/2021 <br />515