Indigenous and Palestinian activists march side by side as the connection between Palestinian resistance and Indigenous Peoples' Day was drawn by speakers and signs during Seattle's 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration on Oct. 14, 2024. (Photo: Alex Garland)
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Hundreds Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day With Drumbeats and Messages

Alex Garland

The 10th anniversary of Seattle’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, Oct. 14, brought hundreds to the streets in celebration. The City of Seattle adopted a resolution in 2014 naming the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day, removing Christopher Columbus, a 15th-century Italian ship captain, from Seattle’s calendar of celebration.

Honor was shown for Indigenous people from the Salish Sea to Palestine as connections to Indigenous communities from across the world were respected. Matt Remle (Hunkpapa Lakota from Standing Rock Sioux Reservation), a longtime community organizer, spoke to the crowd at a stop near the Federal Building. "Just letting our Palestinian relatives know that we love you,” Remle said. “We see what's happening, and our hearts go out to that genocide you are facing, so we stand here and support you."

Hundreds marched from King Street Station to Westlake Park in Seattle to celebrate the 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 14, 2024.
Matt Remle (Hunkpapa Lakota from Standing Rock Sioux Reservation), a longtime community organizer, speaks to the crowd on the history of Seattle’s Indigenous Peoples' Day movement.
An Indigenous woman sings and drums as a Palestinian flag flies behind her during Seattle's 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration on Oct. 14, 2024.
A Palestinian woman speaks to the crowd on the similarities between what happened to her people and what has happened to Indigenous Americans during Seattle's Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 14, 2024.
Activists chanted “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime” and “Free Free Palestine” as they marched from King Street Station to Westlake Park during Seattle's 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration on Oct. 14, 2024.
Indigenous organizers Millie Kennedy (center) and Patricia Chookenshaa Allen-Dick (right) were key activists in making Seattle's Indigenous Peoples' Day what it is today.
Indigenous activist Linda Soriano wears a Native Vote pin during the 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration in Seattle on Oct. 14, 2024.
James Old Coyote leads the Sacred Water Canoe Family in song during the 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day march in Seattle on Oct. 14, 2024.
Matt Remle sings with others during the 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration in Seattle on Oct. 14, 2024.
Ken Workman of the Duwamish Tribe marches the 10th Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration in Seattle on Oct. 14, 2024.
Pamela Dalton Stearns marches and drums in her Indigenous regalia during the 10th Indigenous People’s Celebration in Seattle on Oct. 14, 2024.