The Pigsgusset Initiative seeks to increase communication and promote collaboration among Watertown residents to undo the erasure of Indigenous Peoples from the place now called Watertown and to promote inclusive historical narratives.
To this end, we advocate that Watertown residents, elected officials, and other relevant parties work together to:
- refocus local curricula to include more about the Original Peoples who have stewarded this land for thousands of years and how settler colonialism impacted and impacts them;
- acknowledge and respect local diversity by renaming the land in Watertown Square currently called “the Columbus Delta”;
- examine critically the current Watertown seal and create a new seal that respects the Original Peoples’ history of dispossession and resistance;
- take steps to acknowledge Original Peoples throughout Watertown by first conducting a critical inventory of public spaces and the plaques, monuments, and street names that are displayed there.
Watertown’s 2nd celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day will be held on Sunday, 10/1/23, from 1:30 to 5:00 PM at the Hosmer Elementary School, 1 Concord Road, Watertown, MA. The free event will feature Indigenous musicians, artists and vendors. Find more details in this press release and program.