Belmont Public Schools: School/Community Announcement About Indigenous Peoples Day

Press release from Belmont Public Schools:

10/4/2021

Dear Belmont Families and Staff,

On May 5, 2021, Belmont Town Meeting voted in favor of Warrant Article 10 to establish that the second Monday of October would be commemorated as Indigenous Peoples Day in the Town of Belmont. We are grateful to the Belmont High School students who collaborated with community members to bring Warrant Article 10 to Town Meeting and to the Town Meeting members who approved it.

Indigenous Peoples Day honors the past, present, and futures of Native peoples throughout the United States and aligns with the Belmont Public School district’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Belmont sits on the original homeland of the Pequosette Tribe.

An important part of our ongoing work is making sure our curriculum provides both mirrors, where students can see themselves reflected, and windows, where they can learn about people whose experiences differ from theirs. This has resulted in changes to curriculum units and texts, especially in English language arts and social studies; the work to make sure all voices and perspectives are included is ongoing.

We invite you to celebrate the first ever Indigenous Peoples Day by participating in two special events planned to mark the moment:

Respectfully,

John P. Phelan
Superintendent of Schools
Town of Belmont

This press release was produced by Belmont Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.