Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda (MILA)
The Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda (MILA) is a coalition of left-of-center advocacy organizations that lobbies the Massachusetts state legislature to pass legislation relating to Indigenous heritage, education, and public symbols. The group has organized lobbying days, circulated co-sponsor letters, and partnered with allied organizations to advance these measures. Its priorities include replacing Native American mascots in public schools; replacing the state seal and flag, which depict a Native American figure; renaming Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day; mandating curriculum on Native history; prohibiting the resale of cultural objects; and creating a commission for Native education. 1 2
Contents
Background
The Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda is coordinated by United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and includes partners such as the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB), Cultural Survival, Massachusetts Peace Action, and UU Mass Action. These groups work together on lobbying, public statements, and grassroots campaigns to pressure legislators. 3 4 The coalition has traditionally assembled a new agenda of five or six bills for each two-year legislative session, with the bill content and topics being generally similar from session to session. 1 5 5
Activities
The Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda supports several pieces of legislation during each legislative session in the state. Activists affiliated with the agenda have delivered testimony in support of the agenda using charged language deriding colonists, criticizing a mural of the Boston Tea Party in the state house, and alleging that the failure to advance their agenda means that Native Americans are not viewed as human. 4
One organizer, Faries Gray, stated in 2025 testimony, “So I have to think: They still don’t look at us as human beings. Even though they say they do, they can’t. How could they not act on this agenda if they looked at us as human beings? They can’t. They can’t look at us as human beings. I have to realize that. The same differences remain, even if I don’t want them to. By not acting, and not doing what should be done, it is proof, to all the Indigenous people: ‘That’s how they view us.’” 4
In 2025, MILA held a “Day of Action” at the State House, where coalition members and supporters urged legislators to move a five-bill package forward. Episcopal bishops in Massachusetts released a public statement encouraging parishioners to lobby in favor of the agenda. Cultural Survival and other groups have circulated online letters urging co-sponsorship of the bills. 6
Mascot Band
MILA supports legislation to prohibit public schools from using Native American names, imagery, or symbols as mascots. The group alleges that such mascots are harmful and racist, stating that “These mascots normalize culturally insensitive behaviors and convey an inaccurate understanding of Native American people.” Versions of the bill have been filed in successive sessions. 7 4 8
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
The coalition backs legislation to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A group called Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day was formed to support the initiative in Massachusetts. 9 7 5
Curriculum Requirements
MILA promotes a bill to require Massachusetts public schools to expand teaching on Native American history and culture. Proponents say existing curricula omit Native perspectives, and the legislation would mandate the state’s Department of Education to incorporate such material. 7
Cultural Heritage Protection
The coalition also supports legislation that would prohibit the sale of Native American funerary, sacred, or culturally significant objects for profit. 10
Education Commission
MILA’s package as of 2025 includes a bill to create a state commission to study educational outcomes for Native American and Alaska Native students in Massachusetts. The commission would issue reports and recommendations to state policymakers. 11
State Flag, Seal, and Motto Reform
MILA and its allies have also supported efforts to change the Massachusetts state flag, seal, and motto, which as of 2025 included Native imagery. A commission was created in 2021 to redesign the symbols, and a new advisory commission was established in 2024, but press reports noted that the process has been delayed as of 2025 due to the inability of the commission to make progress. 12 13
Endorsers
Organizations that endorse the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda include the Anti-Racism Affinity Group of Greater Newburyport, Boston Catholic Climate Movement, Clean Water Action, Food and Water Watch, Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day, Hull Democratic Town Committee, Jewish Climate Action Network, Massachusetts Climate Action Network, SEIU Local 509, Sierra Club Massachusetts, and the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine. 14