Noel Sims photos
Scenes from ULA's Indigenous Peoples' Day gathering Wednesday.
“Our people live without borders,” John Lugo said in Spanish to a small crowd gathered on the corner of Church and Chapel to celebrate both migrants and indigenous people who call this land home.
That was the scene Wednesday afternoon during an Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration hosted by the local immigrant rights advocacy group Unidad Latina en Accion.
As Lugo spoke, smoke from sage burning at an altar set up in front of the Bennett Memorial Fountain wafted through the air. Among the group listening intently to his words were women in traditional Mexican and Guatemalan garb, young children, and a few curious passersby walking across the Green.
Lugo, who helms ULA, welcomed family, friends, and neighbors to join in a celebration of Indigenous People’s Day.
The rally wasn’t the only celebration of native people and culture that was held on Green Wednesday. On the Elm Street side, a second group led by longtime local activist and Indigenous Peoples’ Day event organizer Norm Clement gathered for a separate ceremony. (City government, meanwhile, now recognizes the second Monday of October not as Columbus Day or as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but instead as Italian Heritage Day.)
According to a flyer passed out by organizers, the ULA event had an additional purpose: to criticize a lack of action by Democrats and other elected officials to make pathways for migrants to stay in the United States.
Oct. 12 has long been recognized and celebrated in this country as the date that Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas. On Wednesday, Lugo recognized the date as an anniversary of something much different than a first encounter between two cultures. He described it instead as the beginning of violence and genocide against Indigenous people on this continent. He said that today’s immigration policies are a continuation of that violence.
After his speech, Lugo introduced an Indigenous Guatemalan organizer named Pedro, who has been working with ULA for five years and traveled to New Haven for the rally. Pedro led a ritual to honor “lost ones who were killed violently” and those who “took care of the land” before it was invaded.
He also emphasized the harm that current borders cause to Indigenous people. “We belong to this land,” he said. “No one is illegal here. Borders were created by the white man and they should disappear.”
Pedro’s speech was followed by traditional dances from women who traveled to New Haven from Guatemala, as well as a group of women who arrived just days ago from Mexico to spend a month sharing their culture and reuniting with family members who crossed the border many years ago.
For organizers, the rally was an act of celebration and of resistance. “We ought to be proud of our rich cultures they tried to strip away,” Pedro told the crowd.
After the rally, Lugo told the Independent that “it was an honor to have Pedro here to help keep traditions alive and recognize the migrant community.”
“We are not trespassers. This is our continent,” he said.
“We are not trespassers. This is our continent,”
I love this!
I have a collogue who jokingly calls herself an immigrant bc she is from South America....I told her a while back that there is no line of separation between the Americas and this is HER LAND 1st....She said "Wow! I never thought of it like that! Thank you" :)