On October 10, IU Provost Rahul Shrivastav proclaimed the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. But for Indiana, the day is clouded with a dark past that many don’t know about. The ignorance of indigenous history was shown firsthand during this year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Indiana means “land of the Indians” due to the heavy population of indigenous tribes that lived here before settlers. The state used to be home to around 16 indigenous nations, including the Myaamiaki (Miami), Lënape (Deleware), Bodewéwadmik (Potawatomi), and Saawanwa (Shawnee), which IU recognizes in their land acknowledgment. After several native removals, these populations were almost eradicated from the state.

Community leaders like Zack Dubuisson, distance learning specialist at the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and part of the Choctaw Nation, say that people need to be more aware of what this day is about.

“There’s an erosion of history, so sort of dig the history up and get the message out,” Dubuisson said. “And so things like this are really important for not only indigenous people but also nonindigenous people to learn more about the history of the land before the Europeans showed up.”

As of October 23, the post has 1,645 comments.

With the rise of anti-indigenous hate in the country, learning about history and culture is as important as ever. When IU Native American Student Association, or NASA, posted for Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Instagram, they experienced the hate firsthand.

In a post that echoed Dubuisson’s sentiments, the caption reads: “Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day from NASA! Please take the time to educate yourself about today.”

After it was posted, the comments started to pour in. 

Usually, the account gets no more than five to ten comments per post, but just after two days, the post was up to 1,557 comments. 

The comments were left by trolls whose main goal is to be “controversial” and “edgy.” Some of the comments praise Christopher Columbus who has become a figurehead for the anti-indigenous movement, or “L to natives” which means that the natives lost to colonizers.

Indigenous Peoples' Day is celebrated on the same day as Christopher Columbus Day. Many people see this day as a replacement for Columbus Day after more history has been unearthed about his mistreatment of natives.

Many trolls leave comments referring to the "erasure of Italian history" or "anti-italian discrimination." This is a reference to the start of Columbus Day, which was originally to dispell anti-Italian hatred in the early 1900s.

An "L" is a popular internet slang term meaning "loss." This commenter is telling indigenous people to reclaim their "loss to colonizers" and not their land.

Some troll comments are simple. This commentor is saying that Christopher Columbus was "epic" or deserves to be revered in internet slang.

Other commentors try to invoke anger and frustration through obvious misinformation. Statements like these are made for clicks and reactions.

Many of these Instagram accounts are spam and bot accounts with generic usernames and profile pictures relating to far right troll and gaming culture. They usually have zero posts or are privated.

This troll account is public. All their posts relate to trolling liberals, abortion clinics, and marginalized groups.

This commentor is referring to the conquering of native lands during the age of exploration in the 1400s/1500s. They are realting the influx of troll comments to that time period.

NASA has not yet addressed the comments publicly, but other organizations like IU Hillel have come out in support. Many supporters have also flooded the comment section to try to combat hateful speech.

Even though there are educational opportunities with non-indigenous people, there are also educational opportunities within the community. 

Former NASA president, current Americans of Abya Yala President at La Casa, and member of the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan Nation Coahuiltec Jose Caballero is trying to help others like him try to find their own native identity. His nation is split along the Texas/Mexican border and also not federally recognized, so it was harder to connect.

“Having not grown up around that that area, it’s kinda disconnected,” Caballero said. “So growing up in a sense, forging that identity, personal identity, and taking those steps on my own with the internet and resources available to me.”

He said there is also a divide within the community between the indigenous communities in Turtle Island (North America) and in Latin America, with himself and others stuck in the middle.

“Being a voice within the space, in our space, in the general space, coming from that perspective of political divide with Turtle Island and Latin America,” Caballero said. “Being right there in the middle, I think has added an extra responsibility to me and not just being indigenous to one area, to one country, but kind of right there in the two of them.”

Having leadership roles at both La Casa/Latino Cultural Center and NASA is one of the ways he’s bridging the gap.

“That’s kind of the two-step approach I had in mind,” Caballero said. “See how the culture and the community is here and establish something here and build something here and create something similar at La Casa so I could kinda be the connector of the two houses, the two organizations, the two political divides of our peoples.”

Even though the university is doing land acknowledgments and recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day, there is still more work to be done.

“There’s been work done within the community, the first nations community, and the native organizations throughout the years,” Caballero said. “But I do think it is important, it is a shared sentiment to not just work within ourselves but also the broader community.”

Those wanting to learn more about indigenous history in Indiana and around the globe can visit the IUB First Nations Educational and Cultural Center’s website.