The world-renowned Grammy-winning group, the Black Eyed Peas, will join the iconic Native American rock group Redbone for the grand finale concert at the inaugural Indigenous Peoples Day event in Los Angeles.
Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, who is of Shoshone and Hopi heritage said “It’s an honor to lend the group’s support of this historic occasion for Los Angeles, and I want to thank Pat Vegas of Redbone for the opportunity to collaborate on the event.”
Pat Vegas of Redbone— who will be joined by his son on stage, special guest PJ Vegas— said, “This event will celebrate unity and love within our community of Los Angeles and I can’t wait to share this message alongside the Black Eyed Peas. We can’t wait to keep the message of ‘love and music’ alive on stage on Oct 8th.”
Other musical performances will be featured throughout the day, including artists such as: Jessa Calderon, Artson, Cody Blackbird Band, Drezus, PJ Vegas, and Mato Wayuhi.
Indigenous Peoples Day will take place on Monday, October 8, 2018, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, at Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles. The event is being billed as one of the largest Indigenous Peoples Day events in the country, with a Facebook event page that has received thousands of responses from people planning on attending the special celebration.
Councilmember O’Farrell, joined by the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission as co-collaborators on the event, say they want to use this platform to highlight the importance of recognizing the replacement of Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in the City of Los Angeles and nationwide.
“The addition of the Black Eyed Peas will help amplify the message to other municipalities across the country that replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day is essential if we are to ever eliminate the false narrative that Christopher Columbus discovered America,” said Councilmember O’Farrell in a release. “I am grateful for the partnerships, as well as the opportunity to unite Angelenos and possibly take this movement to the next level by inspiring an entire country to effect change in their communities.”
Both Grand Park and City Hall public spaces will be utilized for other activities planned throughout the day, including: a sunrise ceremony; 5K run; parade of nations; Native American Pow Wow; panel sessions on trending topics related to Native Americans and the community; a fashion show; and the grand finale concert.
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, a member of the Wyandotte Nation, led the initiative to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day during his first term in office. After numerous hearings with members of both the Native American and Italian American communities, the City Council voted in August of 2017 to establish Indigenous Peoples Day as the second Monday in October.
Nationwide, there has been a movement to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. Cities that have adopted resolutions to declare the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day include San Francisco, Berkeley, Denver, Seattle, Anchorage, Portland (OR and ME), Albuquerque, Minneapolis, and Santa Cruz.
The Grand Finale Concert will take place Monday, October 8th at 6 p.m. on the stage next to City Hall, 200 N Spring Street in Los Angeles.
Follow Indian Country Today’s associate editor and senior correspondent, Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) on Twitter – @VinceSchilling
