Our work is not limited to city and state governments – campuses across Massachusetts are also working to get their institutions to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.

Harvard

The following updates are current as of October 6th , 2017. To learn more and connect with the Harvard campaign, visit Native Americans at Harvard College on Facebook and sign their petition.

Harvard University

• Soft update of university calendar that reflects “both holidays in accordance with federal and Cambridge parameters.”
• Harvard Quietly Recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Calendar , Harvard Crimson Oct. 6, 2017

Harvard Graduate School of Design

• Soft update of only “academic text calendar” that reflects federal holiday (Columbus Day) and City of Cambridge holiday (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
• Faculty calendar and Academic Calendar remain unchanged

Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Dean Ryan announces that HGSE will recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day going forward, Oct. 5, 2017

Harvard Law School

• Harvard Law School Student Government adopts resolution that calls on Harvard University to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Fall 2016
• Harvard Law School Student Government adopts addendum to reaffirm previous year’s resolution and calls for a memorial to Massachusetts tribes, Fall 2017
• Harvard NALSA releases statement calling for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 5, 2017

Harvard Medical School

• Dean Daley announces that HMS will recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 6, 2017

Tufts

Arts, Sciences, and Engineering faculty at Tufts voted to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on February 24, 2016 after similar student government resolutions and student organizing.

For an example of what a student government resolution declaring Indigenous Peoples Day could look like, check out the Tufts Senate resolutions:

• Resolution Calling for Tufts University to Recognize the Historical and Present Day Significance of Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in Place of “Columbus Day”
• Resolution Calling for Tufts University to Support the Movement for Indigenous Peoples Day Boston
• A Resolution to Recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in Place of “Columbus Day”

Wellesley College

Wellesley College decided on November 14th of 2019 to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday of October.

Resources

If you are interested in starting a campaign on your campus, please reach out to info@indigenouspeoplesdayma.org.