Concord Museum event among many celebrations in Mass. of Indigenous Peoples Day

Many cities and groups in Massachusetts held special events over the holiday weekend to commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day.

That includes the Concord Museum, which hosted the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers — a group of musicians that include the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod and Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard — for the fifth straight year. Every year, the free event has sold out in advance, according to museum staff.

The Wampanoag singers are "very popular," said Allison Shilling, deputy director of the Concord Museum. "We're always at a full house."

A growing number of cities and towns in Massachusetts have recognized the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day, though efforts to officially change the state holiday from the federally designated "Columbus Day" have stalled so far in the Legislature.

Some museums offered free admission on Monday, while others held special events to mark the occasion, like the event in Concord.

One of the members of the Wampanoag performance group, Carol Wynne of Mashpee, said it's important to come to these events.

"It gives us a chance to talk not only about our people — the Wampanoag people, native people — but all other Indigenous people in the world too," Wynne said.

John Peters, another member of the troupe and executive director of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs, also said it's important for the tribe to share its traditions.

Peters said the country long missed out by not paying close attention to Native American culture, including how Indigenous people learned to live on the land and treat one another.

He acknowledged that many people in Massachusetts today don't even know any Native Americans, since the population is well under 1% in the state.

"There's not a whole lot of us left," he said.