Mayor Bruce Teague has proclaimed Monday, Oct. 11, 2021, as Indigenous Peoples' Day in Iowa City.

A growing number of local governments have recognized that, as our understanding of history changes, so must our commemorative events.

Human Rights Commissioner Siri Bruhn made the following remarks upon accepting the proclamation:

I want to begin by thanking Mayor Bruce Teague and the City Council for affirming and directly recognizing the fundamental importance of this founding group within our community through a proclamation. I am honored to accept the proclamation on behalf of the Human Rights Commission, who drafted the land use statement, on which this proclamation is based, in collaboration with the Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

On a personal note, I come to you as the newest member of the HRC, and as a public school teacher who strongly believes that young voices must be sought out and heard in conversations that ultimately craft our community here in Iowa City. Also as a teacher, I understand that in order for learners of any age to internalize a message at a level that motivates action, we need to hear that message more than one time, in more than one place, and in more than one voice. I sincerely thank the City Council for joining this group of voices that works to amplify this critical message of historical understanding. I ask my community members - educators, parents, commissioners serving on other City Council commissions, members of any local group - in order for these words to move off the page and become the basis of understanding upon which our community makes its decisions and approaches its relationships, to speak these words that acknowledge the true history of this land in as many venues and conversations and meetings as possible. Thank you.