Indigenous People's Day celebration held in South Bend

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.--- An Indigenous People's Day celebration was held in South Bend on Monday. The observation was held by the American Indian Movement of Indiana and Kentucky.

"It was a good group today," said Madolyn Wesaw, the event's organizer. "It was really empowering to see so many people come out and support our movement, to see that people believed in what we were doing and our message."

People from as far away as Elkhart came to Jon Hunt Plaza for the the demonstration. 

"I started to go to the protests here and in South Bend and in Elkhart, that’s my hometown, and it brought me into the world of the people in the struggle, the indigenous people of South Bend," said Gabriel Effits, who attended the event.

The demonstration happened as the South Bend Common Council debated and passed a resolution to acknowledge the second Monday in October as Indigenous People's Day in conjunction with Columbus Day.

"People have a tendency to kind of view us as relics of the past, but by acknowledging our presence here today, I think it will kind of restore that image and help people to understand that indigenous people are contributing members of society," said Wesaw.