SKOWHEGAN — About 60 people gathered in front of the Pick-Up Cafe in downtown Skowhegan Monday calling on government to support legislation that would establish an official holiday recognizing Native American culture and contributions to society.

Such a holiday, which is already established in some states as Indigenous Peoples Day, would be a positive way to celebrate Native American people in Maine, said Barry Dana, a former chief of the Penobscot Nation, a tribe of indigenous people located in Maine and the organizer of the local celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day.

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Madonna Soctomah of the Passamaquoddy tribe urges people to learn more about indigenous people as Mark Roman waits his turn to address a gathering of 60 people marking Indigenous Peoples Day in Skowhegan on Monday. Staff photo by David Leaming

Monday was also Columbus Day, a federal holiday dedicated to celebrating the arrival of European explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas, and Dana said he had purposely planned the two to coincide.

“We are here on this particular day because it’s always been a very sad day for us,” he said. “For a long time we protested in a very quiet way by, well, doing nothing. But I think there are people who feel the same way native people do, that it’s not necessarily a good thing to be celebrating a person whose presence resulted in years of devastation.”

There are 5.2 million people who identify as Native American or Alaskan Native in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Among them are members of the Penobscot Nation such as Dana and his family, including his mother and his mother’s cousin, who spoke at Monday’s event on some of the challenges they have faced as Native Americans living in Maine. They were among the first people to be handed a talking stick, a traditional native tool which was passed around the circle of people gathered to designate who would be speaking.

“I live on a federal reserve that the government put me on,” said Madonna Soctomah, who has represented her tribe in the state Legislature and spoke in both the Passamaquoddy language and English. “Can anyone here relate to that? What happens to a human being when you are put on a piece of land and you can’t practice your native ways? My people have been mistreated in a horrendous way and it hurts.”

While other minority groups have been able to prosper, there are many indigenous people who still struggle for educational and work opportunities, said Soctomah, who asked people to think about and learn about indigenous people.

“I have to stop because I’m getting too emotional,” she said. “All I ask is for you to think about and learn about the indigenous people who still live in Maine. We still live here.”

As the talking stick made its way around the circle, others expressed their admiration for indigenous people and acknowledged their historical struggles, including mistreatment of native people and the spread of disease in the era of Columbus.

“I want to thank you for coming here and speaking your language,” said Lynne Harwood, 69, of Anson, who said she had learned about native culture in New Mexico, but had never had the chance to do so in Maine.

“I think it’s a shame that indigenous people have had to fight this long and hard for rights on their own land,” said Irene Ketchum, 72, of Skowhegan.

Several people also called on state government officials to help put in place legislation that would establish an Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine and signed a petition in support of the legislation.

One man — John Chapman, of Athens, a descendant of the nurseryman who went by the name Johnny Appleseed — donated an apple tree to the Penobscot Nation.

“We can’t rest on this hour,” said Dana once the talking stick had made its way around the circle. “We can start with recognizing indigenous people in our own communities, but we are also calling on others to do a similar thing. We’ve lived with this for a long time, and you sort of get numb to those things, but now to see this awakening, not just by native peoples but really by everyone, it’s a powerful thing and one we want to reach out and connect with that.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm

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