In recent years, some states, including Vermont and Maine, have made the switch to Indigenous Peoples Day amid debate over Columbus’s treatment of indigenous peoples after he arrived in what would become known as the Americas in 1492. Massachusetts has largely not followed suit. due to opposition from some Italian-American groups.

Bills to make Indigenous Peoples Day a holiday have failed in recent sessions. Recently, a few bills introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate gained support in committee, but ultimately failed to get a vote before the formal session ended in July.

The bill would require the governor to issue a proclamation designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day, according to the Legislature’s website. It recommends that schools and other groups recognize this “history of genocide and discrimination against indigenous peoples, and recognizing and celebrating the thriving cultures and ongoing resistance and resilience.”

The Legislature can still approve matters in informal session until the end of the legislative session, but that’s difficult because one lawmaker’s objection can derail a bill. State Rep. Jeffrey Turco, a Democrat from Winthrop, said he would object during an informal session to any effort to pass bills to create a day for indigenous peoples across the country. He called the movement “an anti-Italian effort.”

“You can celebrate the contributions of indigenous people without taking away from the contributions of Italian Americans,” he said in an interview.

Governor Maura Healey has indicated that she is in favor of changing the holiday. Last year, she said in a social media post: “On Indigenous Peoples Day, we celebrate the cultures, traditions and resilience of Indigenous communities in Massachusetts and our country. We are also confronted with America’s painful legacy of violence, displacement and assimilation. Together we must continue our work to right centuries of injustice.”

For some indigenous people groups this is not enough.

“The Massachusetts Legislature and the governor have not set these priorities,” said Mahtowin Munro, a co-leader of the United American Indians of New England.

Munro, who has worked on many of the Massachusetts campaigns for Indigenous Peoples Day, said Columbus Day celebrates the “discovery” of a land that was already populated and thriving, and expeditions that led to misery for indigenous peoples .

“No one invited him and we didn’t want to be discovered, I assure you,” she said.

Some municipalities try to have it both ways by calling the holiday both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day. Munro said that doesn’t work.

“It would be an effort to celebrate Robert E. Lee’s birthday on June 1,” she said.

Kevin Caira, former president of the Sons and Daughters of Italy in Massachusetts, said there should be a way for both cultures to celebrate their heritage without doing away with Columbus Day.

“Columbus has always been the historical figure that Italians have associated with the immigration movement,” he said.

Caira, second vice president of the national Sons and Daughters of Italy, said the day is intended to celebrate the contributions of Italian immigrants and Italian Americans. He noted that October is Italian American Heritage Month.

“People try to take a person from the 15th century and turn them into a person from the 21st century, but it really doesn’t work that way,” he said.

Locally, there is an ongoing debate about statues of Columbus and indigenous people. In the North End, a statue of the Italian sailor in a public park was beheaded several times. The city removed it and gave it to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, who put it on display in the Old Italian Quarter.

In 2021, Boston replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day after acting Mayor Kim Janey signed an executive order declaring the change.

Every few years there is discussion about changing the state seal to primarily use an image of a native man and a floating arm with a sword above its head.

A bill banning high schools from using indigenous figures as mascots also failed to pass this year.

The number The number of municipalities switching to Indigenous Peoples Day continues to increase. Lexington will celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day for the first time on Monday.

“People are a little more open about real history, and that’s not taught in schools,” said Stephanie Stonefish Ryan of the Native Americans in Lexington group that helped organize the celebration. “And people are learning more about slavery and genocide.”

The Lexington Historical Society, best known for managing the historic preservation of the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington and Concord, said it is committed to better understanding the land and cultures that shape Lexington.

Steven Peter of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe said some museums in Massachusetts and beyond have reached out to discuss how they can make their 250th anniversary events more representative of Native history. Schools have also reached out.

“As a natural outgrowth of that, you’re starting to see a growing wave of people wanting to increase the presence and awareness of Indigenous people in that history, as well as where we are today as contemporary people,” he said.

Sean Cotter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cotterreporter. Izzy Bryars can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @izzybryars.