I was a junior in high school when my American History teacher introduced us to A People’s History of the United States. It was the first time I remember learning the full story of the millions of people who were already inhabiting the continent when a hapless Columbus arrived some 530 years ago. To be sure, there are some who struggle with accepting an accurate accounting of our history. Thankfully we have moved beyond a time when the superficial and harmful narrative of Columbus’s faux discovery of America is heralded as our shared truth, and toward a re-envisioning of the day named in his honor. Indeed, many have come to recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day to honor Native American peoples, commemorate their histories, and learn about their cultures.

Learning about indigenous lands should be a critical component of the necessary work of honoring the people who inhabited the place many of us call home. Writing for Mashable, Heather Dockray published an article in 2018 directing visitors to a Native Land map. Entering your ZIP code or other location details provides results on which native lands you currently inhabit, the lands on which you were born , or innumerable other contexts that make this information meaningful.

On what lands do you currently live? What do you hope to learn about the historical occupants of those lands?

Happy Indigenous People’s Day.