In 2021, President Joe Biden announced the second Monday of October would be honored as Indigenous People’s Day to honor the legacy of native people. The movement to preserve indigenous lands and the traditions of those that lived on them is led by one those close to their lineage.
“The reason that I’m able to do what I do is because my mother and grandmother were such fierce leaders,” said Candice Hopkins.
She is referring to the two women she grew up revering, women in the Yukon’s Carcross/Tagish first nation that she now honors as the executive director of the Hudson Valley’s Forge Project. Based in Taghkanic, the organization calls un-ceded land of the Muh-he-con-ne-ok people their home and aims at reconnecting to it.
“When we think of generations, it’s not just me and my ancestors, but understanding the bird that just flew by is a part of my world,” said Hopkins.
“I was invited to come to Forge when it was created as an organization and this land, as many may know or not know, is the place of great waves of displacement of indigenous peoples,” said Hopkins. “One of the missions of Forge is raising awareness of that, especially those in the Mahicanituck, which is another name for the Hudson River Valley.”
The traditional home land of the Mohican tribe, Native Americans moved westward in the early 1800s as they felt the pressure of removal and relocation from European settlers, and are now based in Wisconsin’s Stockbridge-Munsee reservation. The Forge Project strives to honor their memory in the Hudson Valley.
“Essentially what our mission is trying to strive to do is to not only talk about the importance of native voices and supporting native voices now, but also the impact we've had since the very founding of this country,” said Hopkins.
Their presence in the Hudson Valley aims to keep the conversation about indigenous communities going.
“Indigenous peoples’ day shouldn’t just be a day. It’s not something that is necessarily a kind of one-time understanding of this place, but to understand that our relations here are contingent with one another,” said Hopkins.
