Hundreds of people attended a festival marking Indigenous People’s Day at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens on Monday afternoon.
The festival started in 2018 when the city decided to rename Columbus Day, which falls on the same Monday in October.
A song in the Anishinaabe language called for blessings to open the festival, which has become an important tradition for many people who have felt marginalized.
Michael Andrews, who is a drummer with the All Nation Singers, said he used to come to the festival to hear his father perform.
“This day is really important because we used to say Christopher Columbus, someone who oppressed indigenous people,” Andrews said, adding that it means a lot to be recognized, “Our First Nations people here have been in the background for a long time and just having a day when we feel acknowledged and can call our own.”
San Francisco holds the celebration in partnership with the International Indian Treaty Council and other non-profits.
“The…