Cambridge Celebrates Indigenous People's Day as More Cities Ditch 'Colombus Day'

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Over a year ago, the City of Cambridge joined a growing number of cities and states celebrating Indigenous People's Day. The holiday recognizes Native Americans instead of Christopher Columbus, who advocates say represents the colonization of America instead of its discovery.

The celebration first got its start in Berkeley, California in 1992 and has spread since, seeing a steady resurgence since 2014. Some of the cities who have joined the movement over the last two years include Denver, Colorado, Phoenix, Arizona, Asheville, North Carolina, Northampton, Massachusetts and Austin, Texas.

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In July of 2016, the Cambridge City Council voted unanimously to change Christopher Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

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City Councilor Mazen, who proposed the change last year, said the move was intended to reclaim the day for Native Americans killed after Columbus’s landing in the Americas.

"It is important to reclaim the day for Native Americans, thousands of whom were killed under Columbus’s leadership when he came to the New World," he said.

According to The Crimson, Harvard University recently updated their school calendar to include mention of the holiday.

In a coffee shop just across from Cambridge City Hall Paula Smith, a longtime Cambridge residents, said she supported the change.

"I absolutely agree with it," she said. "They were the first people here so I think it makes sense."

After voting to change the holiday last year, some residents said they viewed the holiday change as a slight to Italian-American heritage.

Cambridge Vice Mayor Marc McGovern, who is half-Italian, said he was pleased to see the holiday removed.

“I view changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a cleansing for me, as an Italian-American. I do not want Christopher Columbus to be representing my culture,” he said. McGovern said Columbus was “the first person to start the genocide in this part of the world.”

October is still Italian American Heritage month in the city, he said.

In September, the Cambridge School Committee voted to have Indigenous People’s Day officially replace Columbus Day on the Cambridge Public School calendar.

The motion was initially proposed by School Committee member Patty Nolan in March 2016 to follow the council’s lead.

In total, there were over 20 cities that switched over from Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day in 2017, including Nashville, TN, Los Angeles, CA, Bangor, ME and Salt Lake City, UT.

Locally, an Indigenous Peoples Day resolution has been presented in Brookline as Article 20 in the Warrant for the Nov. 2017 Town Meeting.

(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Christopher Columbus landing in America with the Piuzon Brothers bearing flags and crosses, 1492. Original Artwork: By D Puebla (1832 - 1904)