Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly, Inc (IPD Philly) is deeply disturbed by the recent announcement of a lawsuit against Mayor Kenney in an attempt to restore Columbus Day in Philadelphia. IPD Philly strongly condemns state-sanctioned celebrations of Christopher Columbus. Columbus committed and condoned genocide by: war, enslavement, sexual violence, human trafficking, displacement, demonization, and dehumanization of Indigenous Caribbeans, which became the framework for the colonization of the Americas. The celebration of such an individual is in direct violation of the rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other international agreements.

IPD Philly:

• Calls on all Philadelphians to acknowledge that celebrating Christopher Columbus propagates inaccurate histories, unjustly ignores genocide, and reinforces inequities based on the biologically-groundless notion of race.

• Identifies official city celebrations of Columbus as a violation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples outlined by the United Nations, which affirms that “states shall provide effective mechanisms for the prevention of, and redress for any form of propaganda designed to incite racial or ethnic discrimination against them (Art. 8.2e UNDRIP).

• Supports Mayor Kenney’s decision to abolish Columbus Day and demands that Indigenous people be included in future decision-making that impacts Indigenous Peoples in Philadelphia in accordance with the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Art. 15.2 UNDRIP).

• Requests support to establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a state and a federal holiday. Currently, there are 14 states, the District of Columbia, and over 130 cities that have changed the holiday name from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

  Read the full statement: https://ipdphilly.org/defend-ipd-in-philly/

SIGN OUR PETITION & WATCH Recent RALLY!

in-person action held on June 10, 4:30pm EDT

at CITY HALL, PHILADELPHIA, PA

WATCH OUR VIRTUAL ACTION held on May 20th, MORE INFO

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT IPDPHILLY.ORG

About Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly, Inc

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly, Inc (IPD PHILLY) is an Indigenous-led emerging non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, PA.

Our mission is to cultivate an active Native American/Indigenous presence in the city of Philadelphia through cultural, educational and community building initiatives that uplift our Native traditions, creative-economies and histories.

Our vision is to counter the historical Indigenous erasure—the deliberate and systematic destruction of Native cultures and violent displacement of Native peoples to this day. In addition over time, we seek to build stronger communication channels between the City of Philadelphia and our constituencies.

Established in 2017 in the Lenape Unami territory of Lenapehoking (Southern PA and NJ).