Hi there,

This month, Democracy Now! marks 29 years of fearless independent journalism. Presidents have come, gone and come back again, but Democracy Now! remains, playing the same critical role in our democracy: shining a spotlight on corporate and government abuses of power and raising up the voices of scholars, advocates, scientists, activists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today in honor of our 29th anniversary. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Indigenous Groups at Occupy Wall Street Mark Columbus Day as Day of Mourning

Listen
Media Options
Listen

As the nation marked Columbus Day on Monday, indigenous groups led a rally at Occupy Wall Street exposing the history behind Christopher Columbus and the impact his “discovery” had on the Americas. “We’re here to say that Columbus is not a day,” said Roberto “Múcaro” Borrero of the United Confederation of Taíno People. “We’re here to join with other people’s voices in saying there needs to be an end to the cycle of colonialism and greed.” [includes rush transcript]

Related Story

StoryNov 30, 2011Occupy Wall Street Camps in Los Angeles, Philadelphia Dismantled in Massive Police Raids
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re standing here at Liberty Plaza right next to an indigenous gathering, where they’re using the people’s mic. People are speaking, and then they’re repeating it to amplify what is being said.

Why don’t you introduce yourself?

ROBERTO “MÚCARO” BORRERO: Hi, Amy. My name is Roberto “Múcaro” Borrero. I’m a representative of the United Confederation of Taino People. I’m a Taíno indigenous person.

AMY GOODMAN: And explain who are the Taíno and why you’re here today on Columbus Day.

ROBERTO “MÚCARO” BORRERO: Well, for us, it’s actually Indigenous Peoples Day. And for the Taíno people, who were the first indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere to be contacted by Columbus, to be impacted by the colonial machine that took—that was set in motion after that initial contact, we’re here to say that Columbus is not a day. We’re here to join with other people’s voices in saying there needs to be an end to the cycle of colonialism and greed. So I’m happy to be here with everybody.

AMY GOODMAN: Thank you very much.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Next story from this daily show

Independent Media Stalwarts Katrina vanden Heuvel & Danny Schechter Speak Out at Occupy Wall Street

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top