MA INDIGENOUS
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
April 2020 Update
While many bills including our own have been stalled at the MA legislature due to the coronavirus pandemic, members of the MA Indigenous Agenda wrote to Massachusetts legislators in early April to flag some Indigenous-specific issues related to the COVID-19 crisis. We are continuing to follow up with state legislators and the MA congressional delegation and press for these concerns to be addressed in public health and pandemic legislation.
About
We are working to support legislation currently before the Massachusetts State Legislature that will benefit Indigenous Peoples.
Our current Agenda includes five bills in the 2019-2021 session that reflect some of the key concerns within Massachusetts.
Take action to support the Agenda.
From time to time, we will also ask supporters to lend a hand with other legislation in the region and nationally.
The Agenda
These are the bills we are supporting in the 2019-2020 MA legislative session
Replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate Indigenous resilience and survival. The change acknowledges the true histories of colonialism, genocide and racism that Native peoples have experienced and continue to face.
Learn more
Ensure Native American funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony held in governmental or non-profit collections are not sold for profit.
Massachusetts has kept a sword hanging over the heads of Native Americans for hundreds of years. That’s a terrible symbol for our state.
Improve educational outcomes and opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native students.
Take Action:
- Write to the Committee chairs and your district’s legislators and ask them to support all 5 bills.
- Sign up for our mailing list so that you can receive updates.
- Endorse our efforts. You can endorse as an individual with your organization listed for identification purposes, or get your organization to endorse directly.
Please print and share our flyer about the MA Indigenous Agenda.