U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Cambridge Celebrates Indigenous Peoples' Day

Sign outside City Hall showing that Cambridge celebrates indigenous peoples' day

The City of Cambridge is on land belonging to the Massachusett People. The City of Cambridge continues to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 10, 2022. There are over 600 Native Nations in the United States, where 6.8 million Americans identify as Native American, including 250 in Cambridge. To learn more about the land you are residing on, check out this map outlining some of the Indigenous Nations. The Historical Commission is currently working to replace a sign to update an inaccuracy on a statue in Harvard Square. In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, there will be an event at the Cambridge Public Library. Below is more information regarding how you can observe Indigenous People’s Day.

Events:

Indigenous Peoples Day: dg nanouk okpik presents Blood Snow (Virtual)
Thursday, October 13, 12-1 p.m.
Poet dg okpik’s new book, Blood Snow (Wave Books), tells a story of a homeland under erasure. Here, in a true Inupiaq voice, her relationship to language is a point for understanding larger kinships between animals, peoples, ancestries and more. Okpik has won the Truman Capote Literary Award, American Book Award and the May Sarton Award. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants one hour before the event. Please register in advance.

Indigenous Storytime at the Main Library
Tuesday, October 11, 4-5 p.m.
Mayor Siddiqui will be reading at a story time at the Main Library in the Rey Room with books about Indigenous communities.

Historical Commission Sign Change:

The Mayor's Office has worked with the Historical Commission and members of local Indigenous communities to update the historical language in Cambridge, including on the sign pictured below in Winthrop Park.   

Winthrop Park sign stating "The City of Cambridge recognizes that these historic markers describing the founding of Newtowne omit the history and presense of Indigenous peoples on this land. Replacement markers are being prepared.

Reading List:

Challenge yourself this month and read the books featured in our Indigenous Peoples’ Reading list. The Library has all of these books available and ready to be checked out!

A book list for Indigenous Peoples' Day. This land is their land, dawnland voices, all the real indians died off, an indigenous peoples' history of the united states, snake falls to earth, rabbit chase, sisters of the neversea, berry song

In order to spread awareness of Indigenous history, City Hall has put up a lawn sign for residents to learn more and a banner across JFK and Mount Auburn Street. 

Page was posted on 10/6/2022 5:03 PM
Page was last modified on 12/31/2023 11:05 PM
Contact Us

How can we help?

Please provide as much detail below as possible so City staff can respond to your inquiry:

As a governmental entity, the Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records made or received by the City. Any information received through use of this site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper.

Read our complete privacy statement


Service Requests

Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc., click here