“Indigenous Peoples’ Day is everyday!” Sutton King, the co-founder, president, and executive director of the Urban Indigenous Collective (UIC), writes in an Instagram post. It’s a picture of herself holding up a fist, symbolic of resistance, as she represents her Indigenous lineages: the Menominee and Oneida Nations of Wisconsin. The photo was taken at a gathering on Randall’s Island Park in New York for the holiday many cities now observe in place of Columbus Day. She’s adorned in a crimson skirt trimmed with yellow, white, and black ribbons. The front of the skirt features a stitching of a woman whose mouth is covered by a red handprint, a symbol of the movement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit (MMIWG2S).

This mix of celebration and resistance runs through UIC’s work, and this weekend it’s taking over a dance floor in Brooklyn. On Saturday, Oct. 17, UIC will host Indigenous Peoples’ Day Ain’t Over, the official afterparty of the National Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Parade, at The Please Space Studio. The 21-and-over event runs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will double as a seven-year anniversary party for UIC. The nonprofit launched on Randall’s Island on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019 and has since grown into a hub for mental health care, community programming, advancing community-based research, advocacy, and direct services for Native people across the city.

The anniversary brings things full circle to Randall’s Island, where Indigenous communities of New York have gathered for more than a decade to get New York City to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day without Columbus Day or Italian Heritage Day attached. “All we had back then was a tent, a table, and something that was so invaluable, which was our community-based needs assessment,” King tells DoubleBlind. “We went to the island and asked our community, Indigenous New Yorkers, what they needed. Seven years later, here we are.”

Since opening its community center on the summer solstice three years ago, UIC has welcomed more than 4,200 community members representing over 70 Indigenous lineages, and it’s weeks away from launching direct clinical mental health services.

Saturday’s celebration also lines up with Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics, one of the longest-running conferences in the field. The conference’s last day happens to fall on the same day UIC is hosting its gathering.

“Celebrations have been happening all over New York City this week [for Indigenous Peoples’ Day] and Saturday is the culmination,” says Ariel Richer, PhD, co-founder, and director of research for UIC. Although the party is unaffiliated with Horizons, UIC’s research on plant medicine creates connective tissue between both organizations. “Indigenous people have stewarded relationships with plant medicine since time immemorial, and we are here and part of the contemporary psychedelic movement,” she says.

The event will feature music from DJ Rhthym (Māori), Kara Roselle Smith (Chappaquiddick Wampanoag), The Albchemist (Taíno/Maya), and DJ Sabreen (Palestinian), who will trade sets throughout the night. It will also feature cultural performances from King Charles (Shinnecock) and Hondo D. Bull (Cherokee/Nansemond).

The 20,000-square-foot venue will become a gallery, too. A 3D projection-mapped installation will reimagine Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland now called New York City, as it looked before colonization. Artist Bebonkwe Brown will unveil a seven-foot work, Ayala will show seven canvases honoring those affected by ICE, and an augmented reality showcase called INYFW XR will put six Indigenous fashion designers in a digital spotlight.

For anyone who wants to gather in community the night before, Friday, Oct. 16, Cannademix, a cannabis conference series; and Psychedelic Assembly, a psychedelic community and advocacy organization, will host the Unofficial Horizons Harlem Hang. The party promises specialty mocktails from Bixi, Flintts Mints, and DJs from across the boroughs, along with a chance for the psychedelic and plant medicine community to connect and deepen relationships outside the conference hall.

“Everyone has been mentioning the necessity of having a place to hang out and connect further,” says Josh Alb, founder of Cannademix. “We know that the meetings happen at the conference, but the relationships are built outside of that. To be able to bring people together over incredible food, drinks, mocktails, and music in Harlem and show people who are coming in from out of state real New York — that’s why this is important.”

The events of this week are certainly infusing New York with life-giving energy. For UIC, it’s about showing everyone the vibrancy and creativity of Indigenous communities. “This is a celebration of our cultures, communities, and continued presence,” Richer says.

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