"Happy" Indigenous Peoples Day (and an invite!)

Hello from rainy New England! I hope this post finds everyone well, warm, welcome!

Perhaps it's the rain that has me feeling rather somber today. Perhaps it's the ever-alarming headlines. I put "Happy" in quotes because to be happy on this day seems trite, atonal, and misaligned with the overall mood of some of us in the United States. On this day, we should be celebrating the rights, humanity, contributions of the 574 tribes of people who inhabited the United States and called it home before the majority of the entire world. We should, from this nation's commander-in-chief, on down, be hosting events, giving speeches, and offering tangible atonement and reparations to the Indigenous People of this land-- the land that was stolen and that absorbed the shed blood of those who tried to defend it.

Instead, at least from my vantage point, I attempt to reconcile what should be with what is. In truth, we are witnessing a perilous and regrettable descent into becoming a nation, which believes basic human rights for all is a sign of weakness; a nation, which places the rights of those who are considered white (no matter when or how they arrived to this nation) to be above all others; a nation, which does not want to see, remember, teach, understand, appreciate, or honor the entire truth of our nation's history.

Our nation's history, in truth, is complicated, interwoven, and layered with triumphs and defeats, grace and greed, mercy and terror, respect for all, and all of the -isms. What we choose to teach our children tells us who we are. Do we teach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing, but the truth? In so doing, we show ourselves to be honest, brave, and accountable. Or do we teach a distorted and perverted history, which only shows one race of people as the heros and all others as foes, criminal aliens, and deserving of being snatched, grabbed, taken, and separated from their family? In so doing, we'd show ourselves to be bullying cowards whose hypocrisy is as plain as polite savagery.

Here's a kids video by PragerU Kids, a conservative non-profit that rakes in tens of millions of dollars annually. This video paints a rosey and eerily sanitized image of Christopher Columbus. For the uninformed, the videos might seem innocuous with its classical music, smiley faced animated characters, and simple rhyming narration. Children can learn values such as perseverance and bravery. Children can also learn that Columbus set sail for Asia, reached the Caribbean islands instead, and that "the settlers and natives got along quite a lot, but also had trouble with each other, and sometimes they fought." Ummmmm, lol! This narrative is so dumbed down that it amounts to a lie!

Here's the truth: Columbus accidentally bumped into the Americas during his search for wealth and glory. Upon landing in the Bahamas and exploring other islands, he, backed by Spain, began the devastating and deadly and barbaric process of colonization and looting. Here's a timeline of the atrocities through a native lense. In essence and in fact, he initiated the transatlantic slave trade. By stealing the Taino people from their land in the Americas and enslaving them in Spain, the appetite for human chattel slavery was whet and satiated for next few centuries by African chattel slavery. This is Columbus' true legacy.

But, but, but, what if the truth scares our children? What if the truth makes us feel bad and guilty? What if the truth encourages people to demand justice? What if the truth compels one to ask for forgiveness, and to offer recompense and reparations?

What if the truth sets us all FREE like it says in John 8:32?! Imagine that!

Telling the truth to kids is possible. Just look at Twinkl's video. It manages to acknowledge not only Columbus' bravery, but also his "mistakes." Furthermore (or moreover, as the case is), the video pays homage to the people who were most impacted by Columbus' acts. If Kidogo Productions did a video like this, we would definitely teach about the intersection of African and Native peoples!

Now that I've gotten this off my chest, in other news... We're Starting a Kidogo Newsletter!

I do have an ask related to another holiday: Kwanzaa! I would hereby invite our Kidogo Kids to submit short essays/poems/videos/songs/visual art/physical art/photography/dances about their beliefs, experiences, and/or hopes for any one of the 7 Kwanzaa principles: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Let your creativity abound! These submissions will be for our inaugural Kidogo Newsletter.

Please have your Kidogo Kids send their submissions to keeanasaxon@kidogo.tv by Monday, December 15, 2025 at COB ET.

For the Kids, for the Culture,

Keeana