Honoring Indigenous rights

Annawon Weeden, left, doing honor song with his father Tall Oak at Day of Mourning rally. WW photo: Monica Moorehead

Several hundred people of many nationalities braved torrential rain to take part in the 37th National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov 23. The annual event, organized by United American Indians of New England, is a day when Native people and their supporters gather on the U.S. “thanksgiving” day to speak the truth about history and to talk about current conditions and struggles of Native peoples.

This year’s theme was: “Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?” The rally’s participants were Indigenous people from throughout the Americas, several of whom pointed out the hypocrisy of the current U.S. government’s attacks against immigrants and spoke of the importance of unity among all Indigenous peoples.

The highlight of this year’s National Day of Mourning was when Toni Zeidan, co-director of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, gave an update on Leonard’s case and health. During her talk, Peltier, who is at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, called Zeidan’s cell phone and was able to hear the gathered crowd shouting, “Free Leonard Peltier now!” at the tops of their lungs.

—WW Boston bureau