BOSTON MARCHES FOR STATEWIDE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

 BOSTON MARCHES FOR STATEWIDE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2025, 12 NOON, PARK STREET STATION BY BOSTON COMMON
Indigenous people and their allies will rally and march in Boston on Saturday, October 11, 2025 to observe Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston and demand that the MA state legislature vote to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. They will call on Governor Healey to make it a priority to support this and other Indigenous-centered legislation (MAIndigenousAgenda.org).
Marchers will celebrate the declaration of Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston and will urge city, state and federal governments to take further steps to address Indigenous community concerns.
Mahtowin Munro (Lakota), co-leader of United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and lead organizer for IndigenousPeoplesDayMA.org, explained: “Indigenous Peoples Day is being declared in cities and towns all across Massachusetts and across the country. We call on the MA State Legislature to step up now and pass our statewide Indigenous Peoples Day bill and stop celebrating genocidal Christopher Columbus as a hero. We call on the MA legislature to pass our other legislation currently before them, including bills to ban Native American sports team mascots, to provide for Indigenous curriculum content in the public schools, to protect sacred Native American heritage, and to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students. We call upon the federal government to respect tribal sovereignty and stop destructive pipeline and mining projects that run through and endanger Indigenous lands and the future of the Earth.
“There is no current fight that is exclusive of Indigenous peoples. We demand an end to criminalization based on colonial borders. We demand an end to the violence of occupation on the lands of our ancestors. And as we demand reparations for slavery for our relations; we also call for the Commonwealth and the United States to meet their treaty obligations to our peoples,” according to Jean-Luc Pierite (Tunica Biloxi), President of the Board of Directors of NAICOB (North American Indian Center of Boston).
Raquel Halsey (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation), Executive Director of NAICOB, said, “This political climate disrupts funding, policymaking, and relationships. We must remain steadfast in our commitments to Indigenous peoples. This egregious attempt to erode our treaty and civil rights cannot deter us, as it did not deter our ancestors. Removal policies drove Native people to urban areas. Away from our traditional territories, our lives are shaped by experiences and living memories of stolen children and missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. Our futures are shaped by the coalition that we continually work to build.”
Recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October is necessary to bring awareness of the true history of Columbus and to honor the Indigenous history of the Americas and Boston as well as the Indigenous Peoples who continue to live in and contribute to the City of Boston. Boston first began to honor Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021.
Heather Leavell from the organization Italian-Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day said: "Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day believes a holiday that celebrates the resilience of Indigenous peoples is far more truthful and uplifting for all residents of the Commonwealth than one that honors a brutal colonizer. By taking this important step toward truth and justice, those of us who are part of the dominant culture will take collective responsibility for our misplaced adulation of Columbus and help to create an environment where healing can begin. In addition, Indigenous Peoples Day must be celebrated as its own stand-alone holiday on the second Monday of October. This is one small step Italian Americans - and the dominant culture as a whole - can take to begin repairing the harm of centuries of oppression and erasure. It is our hope that all residents of the Commonwealth see Indigenous Peoples Day as we do: as a gift for the benefit of us all."
Kevin C. Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition said, “There is no problem more pressing in our nation than fighting against racial oppression. Our collective goal must be a multiracial democracy where we decidedly oppose white supremacy and prosper in the glow of equality. Indigenous peoples day celebrates magnificent steps forward to what Congressman John Lewis called the beloved community.”
A Cultural Survival representative said, "After years of failing to make a bill to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day a priority, Massachusetts has lost the opportunity to be a leader for Indigenous Peoples' human rights. What are we waiting for? Cultural Survival urges political leaders in Massachusetts: Be brave enough to acknowledge the harms of our colonial past and lay a foundation that honors the Peoples whose ancestors first welcomed Europeans to these shores. Take this opportunity to do right by Indigenous Peoples in this state, who have been asking for this name change without response for far too long. Commit now to establishing Indigenous Peoples Day across the Commonwealth in the next legislative session."
Columbus Day has been celebrated for decades at the expense of Indigenous people. Columbus and his men were responsible for genocidal colonial invasions of Indigenous homelands, for slave-trading and sexual trafficking of thousands. Indigenous Peoples Day is an important opportunity to learn about and celebrate Indigenous history and contemporary Indigenous peoples and cultures. It’s time to stop sidelining and erasing Indigenous histories and contemporary issues.
Demands at Saturday’s rally will include:
-Statewide Indigenous Peoples Day Now!
-Pass the full Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda (MAIndigenousAgenda.org)
-Rename the Christopher Columbus park at Boston’s waterfront
-Rename Faneuil Hall and Reparations for all Black people of African descent in the United States
-Address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice and economic inequality in regard to Indigenous Peoples who live here.
-Address the crisis of Missing & Murdered Indigenous women
-Free migrant detainees & end the deportations.
-No projects on Indigenous lands without free, prior and informed consent.

Listing of 2025 Indigenous Peoples Day events in Massachusetts: https://italiansforipd.org/2025ipdevents/