In late winter, a large group of World of Wellesley (WOW) supporters, led by WOW President Michelle Chalmers, met in front of Town Hall to hold signs and show their support of a citizens petition to honor Indigenous Peoples Day in Wellesley on the second Monday of October in place of Columbus Day. In response to WOW’s call for support, over 400 people who live and/or work in Wellesley signed the petition.
The petition laid out in direct language the 30-year old organization’s reasons for wanting the change and read in part, “Our Indigenous friends and neighbors consider changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day as an important first step toward acknowledging the genocide of millions of their ancestors and the theft of their homelands, that began with the arrival of Columbus, as well as a recognition of Columbus’ role in the kidnapping and enslavement of millions of African people. It is a meaningful symbolic gesture to begin addressing the pain caused to Native Peoples by the many years of celebrating Columbus as a hero.”
On January 30, 2019, the the petition, which had been added to the Town warrant, was presented to Advisory by a group of seven supporters. When it came time to vote Advisory committee members came in as four in favor of changing in Wellesley the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, seven against, and there was one abstention.
What now?
At the February 10, 2019 Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting, Vice Chair Marjorie Freiman addressed the BOS and asked that the Board consider taking a lead on communicating WOW’s efforts townwide. Freiman then reached out to WOW and asked them to consider withdrawing the petition from Town Meeting.
Freiman’s idea is to get the Board of Selectman to partner with the Indigenous Peoples Day Committee to provide opportunities for public conversation, presentations, and gatherings. These opportunities would help ensure that everybody in the community has the chance to express their opinions on the issue.
WOW and the Indigenous Peoples Committee agreed to withdraw the petition from Town Meeting. Chalmers in an email said, “A very difficult decision was made to withdraw the petition from Town Meeting, for now, and pursue the partnership with the Board of Selectman immediately. We have requested to be put on their next agenda to solidify the partnership and move forward with the intent that the Board of Selectman pass a resolution to honor Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October. We will work together to have public forums and community dialogue.”
Columbus Day beyond Wellesley
Across the country according to Pew Research, “Columbus Day is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 10 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get the day off. And because federal offices will be closed, so will most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S. government debt (though the stock markets will remain open).”
In New England, the state governments of Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut give their workers Columbus Day as a paid holiday. New Hampshire government offices are open but public schools close for the day. The state Vermont has officially recognized the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day, but the day is treated as just a regular old weekday, with government offices open and public schools in session. In all, according to the Council of State Governments’ Book of the States, only 23 states (plus the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico) give their employees the day off with pay.
Four states celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day — Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, and South Dakota (which calls it Native American Day). Nevada celebrates indigenous people on a different day than Columbus Day, which was last recognized as a State holiday in 1992.
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Here are some questions and answers that may helpful as we engage in community conversations about Indigenous Peoples Day in Wellesley.
Indigenous Peoples Day is about more than a name change; it’s a refusal to allow the genocide of millions of Indigenous peoples to go unnoticed, and a demand for recognition of Indigenous humanity. Recognizing this day in place of what’s currently known as “Columbus Day” is a way to correct false histories, honor Indigenous peoples, and begin to correct some of the countless wrongs committed against Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (what’s now known as the Americas).
Is a name change important?
Words have meanings; words control who and what we think about, and this has implications on our actions. If we continue to erase Indigenous peoples, and celebrate a colonizer (Christopher Columbus) instead, that will have a direct impact on the ways Indigenous peoples are treated. If we can’t even so much as celebrate the first peoples of this land, and not the person responsible for the largest genocide ever committed, then how can we expect good public policy or day to day treatment for Native Americans?
What good does a name change do for Indigenous peoples?
Native Americans are the racial group most affected by suicide, which is unsurprising considering the inaccurate and racist representation of Indigenous Peoples (not to mention the hundreds of years of genocidal public policy). “Columbus Day” and other forms of representation that normalize colonialism and genocide no‐doubt affect the way Indigenous children and adults seem themselves (or don’t). America has been celebrating Indigenous genocide for decades, which does damage not only to Native children but also to non‐Native children, since they have a false idea that this was empty land discovered by someone. Having a positive day at least once a year for Indigenous peoples is one move that can be made to begin to affect Indigenous representation, and help to remedy some of the harmful effects.
Why can’t we celebrate both?
These myths about “Columbus Day” and Indigenous Peoples Day are powerful, which is part of the reason why we are still fighting for basic recognition and rights. That’s why we are still fighting to have our history represented, like this movement for Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston, and even for necessities like the right for water happening in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota at Standing Rock.
Why can’t Indigenous Peoples Day be on a different day?
Not only is it important to reject the celebration of colonialism in the form of “Columbus Day,” but it’s also important to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of Indigenous Peoples despite these seemingly insurmountable obstacles in its place. Indigenous Peoples are so often erased in society, that many forget Indigenous peoples still exist. For this reason, it’s important to begin to undo some of the harm done through this holiday, and to correct the false histories that have been inscribed.
Isn’t this holiday just about the discovery of America?
Columbus didn’t discover anything, instead stumbling upon thousands of different Indigenous groups with complex societies and systems. Columbus was so lost that he named the people he found “Indians” since he thought he’d stumbled upon the Asian country India, which is why Indigenous peoples from the Americas were historically referred to as “Indians” or “American Indians.”
I thought Columbus Day was about celebrating Italian American heritage?
Beyond the fact that Columbus was sailing for the Spanish monarchy since Italy wouldn’t fund his colonial expedition, or that Columbus was responsible for the deaths of millions of Native peoples throughout the Americas, “Columbus Day” is more of a Catholic holiday, pushed for by the Knights of Columbus in 1934 (a Catholic fraternity) than an Italian one.
It’s important to note that Indigenous Peoples Day is not anti‐Italian, but rather, is anti‐Columbus. We understand that Columbus and the harm he caused doesn’t represent the Italian people as whole. Thus, when we seek to abolish “Columbus Day” and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day, this move is not “anti‐Italian,” but is instead anti‐colonialism/genocide/etc. Many Italian Americans see Christopher Columbus not as a point of pride or celebration, but rather as an embarrassment. The month of October is Italian American Heritage month, offering Italian Americans the opportunity to celebrate the hundreds of Italian Americans who contributed to a positive, not genocidal, Italian American history.
More information can be found at http://www.indigneouspeoplesday.org