This resource document will help towns, cities, businesses, and schools
properly celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.
Identify whose land you live on. Read What is a Tribal Land Acknowledgement and Why Do We Need to Do Them? By Claudia A. Fox Tree (July 2021)
What happened to that community/Tribal Nation? Where are they today?
Lift and amplify current Indigenous voices.
Support Indigenous artists and cultural centers through donations and sharing their work.
Remunerate Indigenous speakers generously for their time sharing with your community.
Support legislation to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
Support legislation to remove Native American mascots from public schools.
Support legislation to ensure accurate Indigenous curricula will be taught to school children in the state.
Recognize and make changes to the dominant narrative that glorifies colonization and genocide of Indigenous peoples of your area. “Pioneer Valley” is one such local term.
Watch or have a showing of Indigenous documentaries and films. Vision Maker has several films to watch.
Create meals that reflect traditional cultural foods of Tribal Nations on Turtle Island. Discuss which foods are Indigenous and how they contribute to cuisines around the world, as well as industrial revolutions in Europe.
Connect beyond food to historical and contemporary agricultural systems, land management, and Indigenous vs. invasive species.
Read books by Native American authors. American Indians in Children's Literature blog spot is an incredible resource for appropriate books for all ages.
Support Land Back and local Tribal Land initiatives in your area. Some Massachusetts entities include the Native Land Conservancy, Nipmuc Cultural Preservation, and Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective.
Engage in active learning with other groups using a tool, like the 21 Day Indigenous Challenge - Fighting Racism Since 1492
IllumiNative has a great website with resources ranging from IPD toolkits, lesson plans, and ally resources.
If your community is considering a campaign to rename the holiday, seek guidance from Indigenous Peoples Day MA.
If you are of Italian American descent, become a member of Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day by signing their statement.
Consider supporting or donating to these Tribal and Native organizations:
https://www.facebook.com/nipmukculturalpreservation/
https://www.herringpondtribe.org
Reading resources:
Christopher Columbus: Accounts and Letters of the Second, Third and Fourth Voyages by: InstitutoPolygraphico E Zecca Dello Stato Libreria Dello Stato, Roma
Christopher Columbus: His Life, His Work, His Remains - Primary Source Edition, by: Thatcher, John Boyd, 1847-1909
Tainos and Caribs, The Aboriginal Cultures of the Antilles, by Sebastian Robiou Lemarche
Cave of the Jagua: The Mythological World of the Tainos, by Anotonio M Stevens Arroyo
Caribbean Paleodemography: Population, Culture, History, and Sociopolitical Processes in Ancient Puerto Rico, by L Antonio Curet
Taino Indian Myth and Practice: The Arrival of the Stranger King by William F. Keegan
The Tainos Rise and Decline of the People who Greeted Columbus, by Irving Rouse
Tobacco and Shamanism in South America, by Johannes Wilbert
Guyana Legends, by Odeen Ishmael
Children’s Books:
The Secret Footprints, by Julia Alvarez
Taino Earthschooling in the Diaspora, by Anani Kaike
Boianani: A Taino Girls First Adventure, by Leslie Gail Atkinson Swaby
On This Beautiful Island, by Edwin Fontanez
Pedro FInds Coqui, by Pedro T flores
Atariba & Niguayona, by Harriet Rhomer and Jesus Guerro Rea
The Legend of Ni Rahu Cave, by Lynne Guitar