September 29th, 2015 Last Updated on: September 29th, 2015
Last week Pope Francis was in Washington D.C. to canonized the 18th-century Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra. Serra is credited for establishing the first Missions of California and converting over 5,000 Native Americans along the West Coast.
Recently, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Ohlone/Costanoan Indians started an online petition to Gov. Jerry Brown urging him to oppose converting Serra into a saint and comparing him to the Confederate flag in its representation of oppression. (Monterey Herald)
Online petition link:
Local Native Americans React to Canonization of Junipero Serra
Its important that our Native communities always rise up and speak out against these atrocities, especially when it comes to our history, otherwise our history books will continue to be washed over with an inaccurate point of view.
If the Catholic Church is so bent on canonising Father Junipero Serra, then why not give out congenial awards to the rest of our villains from Native American history – General Custer, Christopher Columbus or course, Andrew Jackson. I can already hear our proponents reading this blog, “stop playing the victim and get over it” , well, I have a better response, how about your side take responsibility for your actions and stop glorifying your so called hero's, they certainly weren't hero's to us.
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