Wellesley voters and Town Meeting have already affirmed their intent to honor Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October and cease to celebrate Columbus Day, but the final decision rests in the hands of the Select Board.
The Select Board will take up this decision on April 5th—see the agenda. We invite you to engage with the Select Board to show continued community support for Indigenous Peoples Day. Here’s how:
- Email the board at sel@wellesleyma.gov.
- Speak at the April 5th Select Board meeting. Email sel@wellesleyma.gov in advance to request to speak at a meeting. See the meeting agenda for further details.
Here are some facts relevant to the Select Board’s vote:
- In the March 2, 202 Annual Town Election, Question 1 (to honor Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October and cease to celebrate Columbus Day) passed. The vote was 53.25% (2,255) in favor and 46.75% (1,980) opposed—a margin of 6.5%. In terms of votes by precinct, 75% (6 out of 8) voted in favor.
- At the Annual Town Meeting on June 23, 2020, Article 42 (to honor Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October and cease to celebrate Columbus Day) passed. The vote was 63.7% (130) in favor and 36.3% (74) opposed. Furthermore, an article that proposed replacing Columbus Day with National Italian American Heritage Day and honoring Indigenous Peoples Day in November (Article 43) lost with 57.8% (118) opposed and 42.2% in favor (86).
- In the lead-up to the March 2nd townwide vote, three out of five Select Board members (Colette Aufranc, Ann-Mara Lanza, and Lise Olney) publicly stated their support for honoring Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October and ceasing to celebrate Columbus Day.
All Select Board Meetings are live streamed by Wellesley Public Media at https://www.wellesleymedia.org/live-streaming.html and televised on Comcast channel 8 and Verizon channel 40. See each meeting’s agenda for further details.