Alphonse Vecchione holds Italian flags attending the Columbus Day Parade with others along Fifth Avenue in New York City, U.S., October 11, 2021.

11 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, community activists held protests on climate change, fossil fuels and the coronavirus which disproportionately affect Native Americans.

In New York City, crowds gathered along Fifth Avenue to watch traditionally the nation's largest Columbus Day parade, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

"We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror wrought upon Native communities and Tribal Nations throughout our country," Biden wrote last week in a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day.

A few dozen people, many in traditional Native American garments, gathered at sunrise on Monday on New York City's Randall's Island and waded into the waters of the East River to mark the day.