LA Council Approves Formal Apology to Indigenous Communities

The Los Angeles City Council approved a formal apology Wednesday to the California Tribal Nations for instances of violence, mistreatment and neglect committed by the city or that the city was associated with.

The apology is subject to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s approval and is part of Los Angeles’ work to reckon with mistakes and wrongdoing in the city’s history.

On Indigenous People’s Day — which is how the city recognizes the second Monday of each October, when most parts of the United States recognize Columbus Day — Garcetti and Councilmen Mitch O’Farrell and Kevin de Leon announced the city’s new Indigenous LAnd Initiative, which includes issuing a formal apology, renaming landmarks and places in Los Angeles, creating Indigenous Cultural Easements, updating the city’s seal and flag to reflect indigenous communities and working to rename the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway.

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“Starting today, I’ll be kicking off a series of legislative actions and themes to highlight the history, culture and advocacy; to recognize and assert indigenous rights and the recognition of our rightful place in modern day culture, government and every sector of society,” O’Farrell said Wednesday.

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The council also passed a resolution to support the renaming of the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, which is a portion of Interstate 10, with a new indigenous name “to reflect a future of acknowledgement, peace, respect and inclusion.”

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