Wellesley voters back referendum question renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoplesâ Day
By John Hilliard Globe Staff,Updated March 3, 2021, 3:24 p.m.
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The statue of Christopher Columbus in Boston s North End was vandalized by someone who knocked the head off the memorial last year.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Wellesley voters on March 2 backed a referendum ballot question that called for replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoplesâ Day, a holiday intended to recognize the âhumanity, culture and historyâ of the nationâs native inhabitants.
The nonbinding question appeared on the ballot for the townâs municipal election, which included candidates for local office.
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For years, the celebration of Columbus Day went on without protest in Wellesley, which has a substantial population of people of Italian-American descent. But more recently, there has been a hard-fought battle to replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day.
The March 2 ballot contains a referendum on the issue. The referendum results are to inform the Select Board, said Town Clerk K.C. Kato. However, the information is not binding.
The campaign for ballot question 1 has been organized by the Committee for Indigenous Peoples Day Wellesley, which is separate from the World of Wellesley. IPD Wellesley describes itself as a grassroots organization formed by a group of Wellesley residents who are in favor of honoring Indigenous Peoples Day. It says it has no affiliations with or support from organizations outside Wellesley, but does have endorsements from several local organizations, such as Sustainable Wellesley and Young Ethnic Scholars,