Somerville to host first Native American Heritage celebration
Just a few weeks ago, Americans celebrated Columbus Day, the federal holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492.
However, as communities move to stop marginalizing Indigenous people, celebrating Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of America become controversial. Native Americans were living in the Americas long before Columbus’s arrival. In more than a dozen states, Indigenous Peoples Day has replaced Columbus Day.
That hasn’t happened in New Jersey, although two municipalities — Newark and Princeton — officially refer to Oct. 10 as Indigenous Peoples Day rather than Columbus Day. But Somerville is making a different move to recognize Native American contributions.
The Downtown Somerville Alliance (DSA) is hosting its first Native American Heritage celebration on Division Street from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 5. The free event will include Native American vendors, as well as performances by Young Blood Drum and eight cultural dance groups. Dancers include a grass dancer, hoop dancer, jingle dress dancer, fancy shawl dancer and northern traditional Native American dancer wearing regalia.
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“Part of the mission since I came onboard in 2019 has been to support equity, inclusion and diversity, so we have been open to celebrating different cultures not just as a fun event, but also as an educational event,” said Natalie Pineiro, executive director of the DSA. “To do this, we always partner with a nonprofit, community organization or expert to host the event.”
For the Native American Heritage event, the DSA partnered with Harold and Linda Willard, Shaun Daley and Michelle Kassick from Gallery on Main Street and Phil Decker from the Somerville Historic Advisory Committee.
The Willards have a long history of promoting Native American culture across the through events such as powwows, storytelling and presentations. Last year, they were presented with a proclamation from Somerville to mark and honor Native American Heritage Month.
Earlier this year, the Willards approached the borough with the idea to host a Native American celebration.
“We believe in communicating our culture and heritage to people,” said Harold Willard, who is part Native American. “It’s more exposure that Native American people are still here and living amongst us going to work and play, and especially here in the East.”
“I think there aren’t enough events to showcase the rich culture that is Native American heritage so we were really excited when they brought it to the table for us,” said Pineiro. “We are hoping to continue to support and grow the event for next year and years to come.”
However, a Columbus Day event could be added to the Somerville calendar as well, continued Pineiro.
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“We really want to partner with a cultural group or someone who is an expert in that culture because when we do these events, we want them to have entertainment and cultural value, and come from an authentic place,” she said. “We would love to host any type of Italian-American or Columbus Day celebration, we just haven’t been approached by a group to help coordinate that.”
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Contact: JIntersimone@Gannett.com or @JIntersimone
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Somerville NJ to host first Native American Heritage event
