In the lead-up to Christopher Columbus Day on Oct. 10, local Indigenous groups have told City of Tampa officials to remove a Columbus statue from the park dedicated to him on Bayshore Boulevard and W Platt Street. But even if the city refuses to remove it, the group says the statue will come down.
“One way, or another the statue of Columbus must and will be removed,” the Florida Indigenous Alliance and the Florida American Indian Movement wrote in a letter addressed to the city. The groups want the statue removed and for the city to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.