Boston Indigenous Peoples Day Rally Calls For An End To Columbus Day

The rally highlighted several bills in the Massachusetts legislature, among other demands.

Protestors gathered on the Boston Common on Oct. 9 to observe Indigenous Peoples Day and implore Massachusetts lawmakers to advocate for the Indigenous community. 

The annual event, organized by local Indigenous organizations such as the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB), aims to end the celebration of Christopher Columbus Day, replacing the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day.

“It’s time that the Commonwealth recognizes Indigenous people and gets rid of Columbus,” said Faries Gray of the Massachusett tribe. “Today we’re here to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. We’re also here to say we are not accepting Columbus Day anymore. It has to go.”

Indigenous Peoples Day was created to honor the culture of Indigenous peoples. It originated in 1977, during an international conference on Indigenous discrimination sponsored by the United Nations. In 1990, another conference sponsored by the U.N. introduced the idea of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Three days prior to the rally, Mayor Kim Janey established the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples Day. Her executive order effectively replaced Columbus Day in the city of Boston. Other cities and towns in Massachusetts still celebrate the holiday, however.

Similarly, President Joe Biden federally recognized the holiday, becoming the first president to do so. According to his presidential proclamation, Indigenous Peoples Day will be celebrated alongside Columbus Day. 

Biden’s proclamation, rally organizers said, was not enough. “Indigenous Peoples Day is meant to replace Columbus Day,” said co-leader of the United American Indians of New England (UAINE), Mahtowin Munro. “You cannot proclaim Indigenous Peoples Day and then celebrate our genocide right along with it.”

The statewide discontinuation of Columbus Day is proposed in a bill currently making its way through the Massachusetts legislature. It is one of several bills meant to address concerns within the Indigenous community.

Other such bills propose a ban on Native American mascots in public schools, integration of Indigenous history and culture into public school curriculums, and the protection of sacred objects held in governmental and nonprofit collections.

Munro listed several other demands in addition to those addressed by bills. Among them, a call for both Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park and Faneuil Hall to be renamed. She cited Faneuil Hall’s “association with the slave trade,” as explanation for doing so. Faneuil Hall is named for founder Peter Faneuil, a wealthy merchant who profited off of the slave trade.

Munro also called for city and state officials to include Indigenous communities in municipal health data, in order to address potential racial and economic inequalities.

“We demand that the public health crisis caused by racism be addressed,” she said.

To date, just over 5% of Massachusetts cities and towns celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. Pew Research Center describes it as “the most inconsistently observed national holiday.” in the United States. Indigenous leaders remain confident, however.

“We will get Baker… to change the day. If we took six years to get Walsh, we will get Baker, we will get the state,” said Reggi Alkiewicz, Civic Engagement Coordinator of NAICOB.