On Wednesday afternoon, acting Boston Mayor Kim Jayne signed an executing order to to recognize the day formerly known as Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Janey said the order, which begins with this upcoming Monday, "is a small step in a long journey around justice in our city," according to Boston.com.
Boston has now joined over two dozen neighboring Massachusetts communities, as well as neighboring states of Vermont and Maine, in the celebration.
The executive order reportedly came with no warning, according to Boston.com. No public hearing was held regarding the change beforehand, and the order was announced as part of a scheduled speech on Tuesday night.
In a speech given Wednesday, Janey said that the city of Boston has played an important role in United States history, including the American Revolution and the abolitionist movement, to becoming "a training ground for modern day civil rights leaders."
Janey noted that Boston has a "complicated history" that includes “displacement and oppression of indigenous peoples, who lived here for thousands of years." The land that Boston now inhabits was primarily used by tribes local to the area.
"Our shared history in the city is tainted by colonial violence and systemic exclusion," Janey said. "As the current residents of this land, the city of Boston has an opportunity and an obligation to honor the cultures, experiences, and achievements of indigenous people."
During the signing of the executive order on Wednesday, a woman briefly interrupted by yelling that the change in holiday had left out Italian-Americans.
"Italian-Americans have a rich history in the city of Boston and certainly in our nation," Janey responded. "We should celebrate all cultures, and I want to remind everyone here: Justice is not a zero-sum game. We can lift up the experiences of indigenous peoples, and we can also respect Italian-Americans."
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