This is what we are doing:
Presented live at the Public Forum Meeting:
The Museum of the American Indian supports changing the name of Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and prioritizing a name chosen by the Coast Miwok. This is a chance for Marin County to honor and express solidarity with the Indigenous Nation that lives in the area. The name of the infamous pirate Sir Francis Drake is used throughout Marin County because of his uninvited visitation to the area. His involvement in slave trading hardly seems like an action that should be honored. Changing the name of the boulevard, one of the main arteries running through Marin, is a way to disassociate ourselves from his dark actions in the past. We have a chance to use this as a teachable moment for future generations of Marin children and uplift our Indigenous Coast Miwok. We can honor our Indigenous heritage of the land, and we will no longer have monuments to the colonizers of the past. The museum offers its help and support to facilitate conversations with local tribal representatives for consultation on name options and possible Indigenous artistic contributors if there is a movement to make a name change.
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