Several Indigenous led organizations hosted their joint annual Indigenous Peoples Day rally and march
On Oct. 9 United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) hosted their annual Indigenous People’s Day rally and march. The demonstration aimed to raise awareness to struggles faced by the Indigenous community and demand legislative change city and statewide.
The demonstration began at Park St. station where Mahtowin Munro, of the Lakota tribe and executive assistant of UAINE, listed the demands of the group. The march then began with Indigenous community members leading attendees to the State House. Jean-Luc Pierite of the Tunica-Biloxi tribe and president of NAICOB board led a call and response, chanting the organization's demands and calling for action from Governor Baker.
In previous years the rally focused on demanding Indigenous People's Day, the official holiday of Boston. On Oct. 6, 2021, this demand was met, with Mayor Kim Janey signing an executive order making Indigenous People's Day an official holiday in the City of Boston.
In a press release by UAINE Pierite wrote, “for decades, Indigenous people have been calling for an end to the public celebration of Christopher Columbus… It is a meaningful symbolic gesture in addressing the pain caused to Native Peoples by the many years of public celebrations of Columbus as a hero.”
With the organization's main action item fulfilled, the focus of the march shifted.
“We demand that Christopher Columbus park be renamed. We join our Black brothers and sisters to demand that Faneuil Hall be renamed because of its relation to the slave trade,” shared Munro at the rally. The organization is also demanding for Indigenous People's Day to be recognized statewide as Munro argued, “we not only live in Boston but everywhere in the state. We’re your neighbors and we are not gonna be ignored anymore.”
As this is an annual event, the progress made between rallies is notable.
Previously, a high priority demand was the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue in Boston. The statue was decapitated in August 2020 and removed following the defacement. While this was not done by the city in solidarity with the indigenous community, it started a conversation with Boston Art and Culture commission on whether to leave the statue permanently removed due to Christopher Columbus’ link to indigenous genocide or to put it back up as a historical landmark.
NAICOB and UAINE alike have been talking to state officials, rallying and hosting information sessions pushing for government legislation to be passed to protect Indigenous people. However, action items such as renaming Faneuil Hall and Christopher Columbus Park, banning ICE raids in Massachusetts, ending Line 3 and passing the full Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda have remained on their demands list for years.
UAINE and NAICOB shared their hopes for future city leaders. “[We demand] that the next mayor of Boston will meet and consult with indigenous representatives and organizations including the Massachusetts and Ponkapoag tribes, UAINE and others,” wrote Pierite. “Our city still has work to do to make all people safe” said Gloria Colon, Outreach Coordinator for the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB), with UAINE working toward that change.
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