Residents debated whether Columbus Day should be changed to Indigenous Peoples Day at a public forum with the Select Board Monday. The request came from a petition from the town group, World of Wellesley (WOW) asking the town to consider changing the October holiday as a way to acknowledge the genocide of Native Americans and the loss of their homelands that began with Christopher Columbus's arrival to America. Board chair Jack Morgan told the public no decision would be made Monday night and that the purpose of the meeting was to listen.

The national debate over Columbus Day has reached Beacon Hill, with Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis sponsoring a bill, H.3665, that would officially change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Indigenous Peoples Day coalition is calling for people and organizations to submit written testimony before May 7 in support of the legislation. Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Northampton, and other Massachusetts communities have already chosen to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead.