Title
Recognizing October 12, 2026 as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in the City of Philadelphia, honoring and commemorating the achievements, traditions, and contributions of American Indians, also known as “Indigenous peoples”; and affirming the City’s commitment to historical truth, cultural respect, education, and partnership with Indigenous communities.
Body
WHEREAS, The City Council of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located in the United States of Americas, recognizes that the continent known as the Americas includes North, Central, South America and Caribbean Islands, has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, and acknowledges that the city of Philadelphia is built upon the ancestral homelands of the Lenape (Delaware Tribes)- a territory known as Lenapehoking (covering part of PA, NY, DE and all of NJ); and
WHEREAS, By the late 18th century, most Lenape peoples were forcibly removed from their homelands to Indian territory in Oklahoma and Wisconsin in the United States, and Ontario, Canada. Today, there are three federally recognized Lenape (Delaware Tribes) in the United States and two in Canada that assert their presence and heritage to the region: the Delaware Nation in Anadarko, Oklahoma; the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Bartlesville, Oklahoma; the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Bowler, Wisconsin; the Munsee-Delaware Nation; and the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown in Ontario, Canada. Furthermore, Lenape communities also remain within the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, alongside the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, where they continue to uphold their cultural identity; and
WHEREAS, The United States currently recognizes 575 federally recognized Tribal Nations and Alaska Native entities, each possessing a government-to-government relationship with the United States and inherent rights of self-government; and
WHEREAS, Government entities today bear responsibility, as affirmed and outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to acknowledge and address systemic discrimination toward Indigenous peoples, including Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America; and
WHEREAS, Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 at the United Nations International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, and as of this resolution, 17 U.S. states and Washington, DC have officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day or with a variant of its title, on the second Monday of every October and over 200 cities, counties, and universities across the United States have adopted the holiday; and
WHEREAS, The Taíno people of Borikén (Puerto Rico) and Indigenous Caribbeans played a leading role in the international Indigenous rights movement. Philadelphia today is home to one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the continental United States, many of whom identify as Taíno; and
WHEREAS, According to the 2020 Census, over 23,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives live in Philadelphia, along with a significant and growing Indigenous presence from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and other nations; and
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia has adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a holiday for students and staff, observed with cultural learning activities; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has a particular historical connection to the ways Indigenous Peoples were treated since the founding of this nation; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative to acknowledge the historical injustices inflicted upon American Indian and Indigenous communities from the Americas, including the largely overlooked aspect of American Indian slavery and Genocide; and
WHEREAS, The forced enslavement and land displacement of American Indians, by European settlers, represents a dark chapter in our Nation's history, with countless individuals enduring the horrors of captivity, forced labor, and cultural and land displacement; and
WHEREAS, In the United States in the early 1800s through the 1900s many American Indians were mis-labeled as "Colored," "Negro," "Mulatto," “Latino” and “Hispanic," resulting in the dilution of their identities, heritage, spirituality and land; and
WHEREAS, In 1892, 44 Native American ancestors from the Samuel George Morton Collection at Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences were sent by the USA to Spain for exhibition in Madrid. The Morton collection was later transferred to the Penn Museum, which has acknowledged the ethical concerns surrounding the remains and undertaken repatriation efforts; and
WHEREAS, The legacy of American Indian slavery and genocide serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience and strength exhibited by Indigenous communities in the face of adversity, as they not only survived this traumatic period but also continued to preserve their cultural identities, languages, and traditions; and
THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes October 12, 2026 as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in the City of Philadelphia, honoring and commemorating the achievements, traditions, and contributions of American Indians, also known as “Indigenous peoples”; and affirming the City’s commitment to historical truth, cultural respect, education, and partnership with Indigenous communities.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Indigenous Peoples' Day Philly, Inc. as an expression of the gratitude and admiration of the Council of the City of Philadelphia.
End