PROPOSAL NUMBER: 006-05

1. Date proposed 3/10/05. Sponsors: Bruce Meyer
Allen Butcher - Denver GP
Bruce McNaughton - GPCO Secretary
Brad Klafehn - GPCO Treasurer

2. TITLE:
Colorado Green Party Transform Columbus Day Statement

3. FULL PROPOSAL:
The following statement be posted to the GPCO website under a suitable category link such as "GPCO Positions" or "GPCO Endorsements," and not removed until either the holiday is officially changed or the Council specifically decides to remove or revise it. Text follows:

The Green Party of Colorado, and Greens everywhere, work for nonviolence, free speech, social justice and equal opportunity for all in our society. We believe that embracing ethnic and cultural diversity results in a stronger and more democratic society. This democratic embrace of diversity can serve as a means of resolving conflict as it works against violence, racism, discrimination and inequality. Therefore, as a means of working to heal the contemporary effects of historic racism and genocide in North America, the Colorado Green Party endorses the call to transform the Columbus Day holiday.

Columbus Day celebrates a man and a worldview that began the genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. As a city, state, and nation, we can work to heal this painful history of ethnic cleansing of the Western Hemisphere through expanding the official Columbus Day holiday to one that honors the heritage of all peoples, indigenous as well as immigrant, while preserving free speech.

The Green Party of Colorado calls upon Mayor John Hickenlooper and Governor Bill Owens to use their leadership to form a mediation commission bringing together supporters and opponents of the celebration of the Columbus Day Holiday in the City of Denver and the State of Colorado, so that we might resolve the ongoing conflict. We also call upon our elected leaders to create a new state holiday that celebrates our diverse cultural heritage and envisions a future for the Americas that is free of racism and dedicated to social and economic justice for all.

4. BACKGROUND:
This statement was originally passed by the Denver Green Party in August of 2001 and passed by the Colorado Green Party at the Colorado Springs meeting that year, but the minutes of that meeting were lost. It is being presented again (with revisions) for reaffirmation and posting to the GPCO website.

5. JUSTIFICATION/GOALS:
Access to this statement on the GPCO website will serve to enable anyone interested to affirm that Colorado Greens support the change of an official holiday from one that celebrates the demise of the indigenous cultures of the Western Hemisphere to one that celebrates the survival and flourishing of all cultures upon this land.

The intent of proposing this statement is to empower individual Greens in Colorado to represent the Party's view on this issue in appropriate ways.

6. PROS AND CONS:
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Pros for this GPCO proposal:

The Green Party of Colorado will be associating itself with the largest regular expression of resistance to cultural insensitivity in the state of Colorado. This will benefit the Party by furthering its alliance with an activist network.

Cons for this GPCO proposal:

Associating with the largest regular expression of resistance to cultural insensitivity in Colorado will detract from the appeal of the party among those who deny that the Columbus Day holiday contributes to the oppression of the indegenous peoples of the state.

7. Alternatives to the proposal
To refuse to take even the minimal, largely symbolic action of this proposal is to maintain a culturally insensitive attitude toward the indeginous peoples of this locality who have specifically asked for support for removing from our official holiday list the commemoration of an individual who initiated the destruction of the indigenous peoples of this entire hemisphere, and the continued destruction of the environment. To refuse this proposal is to refuse to support the call to transform the Columbus Day Holiday to a culturally sensitive celebration.

8. REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:
10 KEY VALUES of the GREENS

8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.

Green Party of the United States Platform 2004 As adopted at the National Nominating Convention Milwaukee, Wisconsin - June, 2004

II. SOCIAL JUSTICE
A. Civil Rights and Equal Rights
2. Racial Discrimination
Our nation was formed only after Native Americans were displaced.
3. Indigenous Peoples
We have great respect for Native American cultures, especially their deference for community and the Earth.
a. We recognize both the sovereignty of Native American tribal governments and the Federal Government's trust obligation to Native American people. Native American nations are just that - nations - and should be treated in like fashion, with the special circumstance that they are located within the United States.