Former President Donald Trump’s selection of U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate sparked immediate concerns among Indigenous leaders regarding his stance towards Indian Country.
Vance referred to Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a “fake holiday” and commended Columbus shortly after questioning the term “two-spirit” in separate social media posts in 2021. He has also resisted name changes requested by tribal leaders for historical sites.
These social media remarks were made prior to Vance’s swearing in as one of Ohio’s U.S. senators in 2023.
“‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day” is a fake holiday created to sow division,” Vance posted on Oct. 11, 2021 on X. “Of course, Joe Biden is the first president to pay it any attention.”
In a subsequent post on Oct. 11, Vance stated, “A half a millennium ago Columbus utilized European-developed technology to navigate across a vast ocean and discover a new continent. Today, we commemorate that daring and ingenuity. Happy Columbus Day!”
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A month earlier, he responded to a Sept. 8, 2021, post by Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York that mentioned “trans, two-spirit, and non-binary people.”
“I’m sorry but what the hell is two-spirit?” Vance questioned on Twitter. “Would appreciate it if progressives would refrain from creating new terms.”
Following the announcement of Vance as Trump’s VP nominee, the Urban Native Collective expressed concern over his comments.
“These statements undermine the rights and autonomy of Indigenous Peoples and perpetuate historical inaccuracies,” the collective, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit advocating for Indigenous peoples, stated on July 17.
‘Resilience and strength’
President Biden issued the first-ever proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, marking a significant step towards shifting the focus of the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus to honor Native peoples.
The day is observed annually on Oct. 11, alongside Columbus Day, established by Congress.
“For generations, federal policies aimed to assimilate and displace Native people and erase Native cultures,” Biden stated in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation. “Today, we acknowledge the resilience and strength of Indigenous peoples and their immense positive contributions to American society.”
In a separate proclamation for Columbus Day, Biden acknowledged the role of Italian-Americans in U.S. society but also addressed the violence and harm brought by Columbus and other explorers to Native populations.
Landing in the Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492, Columbus, an Italian explorer, led a wave of European explorers who devastated Native populations in the Americas in search of gold and other riches, including enslaving people.
Regarding Native Americans and Indian policy, Vance has remained relatively silent during his political tenure, as reported by Indianz.com.
Opposition to tribal requests
Vance has opposed the renaming of several sites requested by tribal leaders.
As a U.S. Senator in August 2023, Vance penned a public letter urging the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture to reject changing Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to the Buckeye National Forest.
The proposed name change was in response to requests from tribes and local community members, according to a press release from the agency. Discussions about the change are ongoing.
“The forest currently bears the name of General Anthony Wayne, who led a violent campaign against the Indigenous peoples of Ohio, resulting in their displacement from their homelands,” the statement explained.
In his letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Forest Service Chief Randy Moore, Vance expressed, “The federal initiative diminishes Ohio history and shows a lack of respect for our nation’s founders.”
He added, “I disagree with the U.S.D.A.’s characterization of Wayne’s legacy as ‘complicated.’ Such labeling of Wayne’s life and era is often dismissive and beneath the dignity of the U.S. government.”
In 2023, Sabrina Eaton of Cleveland.com described Wayne as a general in the Revolutionary War nicknamed Mad Anthony Wayne, due to his bold military strategies or his fiery temperament.
In 2019, George Ironstrack, assistant director of education at Miami University’s Myaammia Center in Oxford, Ohio, recounted Wayne’s history with Native peoples in Ohio to ICT. The center, led by the Miami Nation of Oklahoma, works on initiatives related to lands in and around the Ohio River Valley, from which they were displaced in 1840.
“As part of his campaign, Wayne’s forces systematically razed Miami villages, food stores, and crops,” Ironstrack informed ICT.
Ironstrack continued, stating that Wayne’s strategy of starvation culminated in the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, compelling the Miami tribe to negotiations resulting in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, through which the Miami and other tribes relinquished most of their Ohio lands.
Vance, author of the memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” often highlights his humble upbringing and anti-elitism stance in politics to appeal to the populist faction of the Republican Party. Despite initially criticizing Trump, Vance later shifted his rhetoric to align with the former president.
However, a story published by Wired on July 18 detailed Vance’s connections with elite conservative figures, wealthy financiers, and others he had previously criticized.
Vance’s contacts, revealed through a Wired analysis of his public Venmo account network, include individuals like Amalia Halikias from the controversial Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation. Project 2025, which proposes extensive conservative policies, has been endorsed by Vance despite Trump’s claim of ignorance about it.
‘We demand respect’
Vance’s nomination as the GOP’s VP candidate occurred during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15-18.
Indianz.com highlighted the absence of Native events at the convention, despite Wisconsin being home to 11 federally recognized tribes. However, ICT reported a federal Indian policy roundtable organized by Cherokee Senator Markwayne Mullin.
A few Native delegates from Oklahoma participated in the convention, with appearances from tribal leaders like Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford. Former Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer, who spoke at the 2020 convention, was expected at the roundtable discussion.
Despite Vance’s late inclusion as the VP candidate, concerns were raised by Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard, Urban Native Collective’s executive director.
“Our rights and history as Indigenous peoples are not open for debate; we demand respect from someone in such a potentially influential position like the vice president,” said Mazzolini-Blanchard, a member of the CHamoru Nation from Guam.
“It’s disheartening that political leaders continue to support these colonized names that hold deep pain for Indigenous peoples.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
