Should Grafton celebrate Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day?

A local social justice group hopes to convince Grafton voters to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day and adopt the holiday of Juneteenth.

“Our town exist on Nipmuc land and is still inhabited by members of the tribe,” said Amar Clark, who appeared before Select Board along with Julie Feeney to discuss a Citizen’s Petition brought by Grafton RISE (Racial Inclusion and Social Equity).

The group started a year ago in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin — who was found guilty just before Tuesday’s meeting. It has more than 360 members in its Facebook group and holds regular Sunday protests.

Clark said the conversation about changing the name of Columbus Day began when Grafton High School removed “Indian” as its athletic team name and mascot last summer. As alumni debated the change on social media, many spoke of their pride in honoring the area’s original residents and their history in Grafton.

“We think this is a great followup to the mascot decision that was made,” Clark said.

More than a dozen states and multiple communities and colleges across the country now celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in place of, or in some cases in addition to Columbus Day. Honoring Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America is considered a sanitization of the resulting enslavement and exploitation of Native Americans.

The group is also asking the town to formally adopt “Juneteenth,” which commemorates the June 19,1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas and the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South (While Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, slaves were still held in Texas two months after the end of the Civil War).

Juneteenth became a Massachusetts holiday back in August and has been added to school calendars statewide, but towns must opt-in to make it a local holiday, Town Administrator Evan Brassard said. The issue, he added, has been much discussed among town managers. Adding this day off would cost about $22,000 in “lost work.”

The group has also suggested naming the Friday after Thanksgiving as a day of mourning or a Native American heritage day but is debating whether it would be appropriate given the controversy over the topic in Native American communities, Clark said.

“There is a lot of work to do beyond the surface stuff,” Select Board member Mathew Often said, suggesting that the School Committee be roped in on the discussion.

Select Board member Ed Prisby warned the group that while the changes seem simple, residents may be resistant to change — especially to Columbus Day, which may be considered insulting to residents of Italian descent.

“Are you ready to engage a community that includes people who don’t care about your message?” Prisby asked. “There’s going to be a lot of ‘You’re erasing history.’”

Select Board member Colleen Roy, who successfully brought a Citizen Petition of her own before Town Meeting last year, suggested the group may have an easier time if they split the requests into individual warrant articles.

“One will have a financial component but one is emotional,” she said.

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