Sunrise gatherings, dances mark celebration of culture on Indigenous Peoples Day

A performer from the Native American Hoop Dance of Ballet Arizona dances at an Indigenous Peoples Day festival Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Phoenix.

Ross D. Franklin/AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Events across the country — including a sunrise gathering in Minneapolis, a statehouse rally in Maine, a celebratory march in Seattle and traditional dancing, music, and food in Alaska and Arizona — marked celebrations of Indigenous Peoples Day.

The ceremonies, speeches and performances in traditional regalia Monday came two years after President Joe Biden officially commemorated the day honoring “America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.”

At a gathering in Phoenix where dancers performed in traditional Aztec clothing, Sifa Matafahi said it was an opportunity to “pay respect to Indigenous cultures … to reflect on our past and history, while also acknowledging our cultural presence.”

A celebratory march was held in Seattle and a sunrise ceremony at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. In Minnesota, about 150 people, including the governor and lieutenant governor, attended a sunrise prayer and ceremony at Bde Maka Ska, a lake surrounded by parkland on the south side of Minneapolis.

“Today, we recognize our ancestors and predecessors who really laid the foundation for us to stand,” said Thorne LaPointe, an organizer, who is Sicangu Lakota. “And we will always recognize our elders who are here and those who have gone on before us, who really kicked open the doors in their time, nationally and internationally.”

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., have holidays honoring Indigenous people, according…