The first Monday of October honors the history and culture of Native Americans that have shaped the city of Akron, and the US. North America’s First People’s Day is an annual celebration that creates a huge symbolic impact on Native families and past generations. Akron, Ohio is thought to be the first city in the US to designate a day specifically for Native people. This resolution wasn’t passed until January 29, 2018 when the Akron City Council members voted unanimously to enact “North American First People’s Day” as law. This became a less controversial alternative to “Indigenous People’s Day,” and I, for one, am completely for it.
According to the National Park Service website, “Paleo-Indian hunters armed with spears likely followed mastodons and other Ice Age mammals into the Cuyahoga Valley about 13,000 years ago and became its first people.” Over the next several thousand years various tribes settled into the region and even improved what is now known at Portage Path. It is known as one of the oldest landmarks on the North American landscape.
The Summit Metro Parks website states, “Different tribes throughout history utilized a land route to “portage” between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers.” This was a vital travel/transportation route, and during the North America’s First People’s Day tribute people walk along the Portage Path. All are welcome to this free event and they get to walk with the Summit county Historical Society, the Lippman School, and members of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. Akron Public Schools and the Portage Path Collaborative also support the event.
It was the work of Lippman students and faculty with the support of representatives of the Northern Cheyenne and Seneca nations to draft the resolution. They worked hard to bring more representation to the area and shine a light on the Native families that contribute to Akron life, Ohio life, and life across the US.
Portage Path was used as a boundary line between land that was legally open to European settlement and land that belonged to the Native people. However, the Treaty of McIntosh (1785) was signed on an agreement to separate the land between European settlers and several Ohio Native nations. Preventing white settlement on reservation land wasn’t strictly enforced by the government, and Ohio History Central.com states, “The Treaty of Fort McIntosh only increased tensions between the Ohio Country American Indians and the Americans settlers who continued to flock there.”
It wasn’t until October in 2001 when Portage Path had bronze sculptures put in place to recognize the Natives that first lived in Akron, Ohio. There are also 50 additional statues that mark the route along with a plaque about the Treaty of Fort McIntosh.
By celebrating October first, we pay homage to the Native American tribes that contributed to what is known as “American history.” The rich culture and traditions of hundreds of generations must not be overshadowed or forgotten. Trying to repurpose Columbus Day, or even honoring the day with cultural pride, hides the truth. North America’s First People’s Day is a step in becoming aware of the past, and moving forward to a future where Native Americans are treated equally.