Indigenous protest against Columbus Day in Latin America

Demonstrators clash with riot police (not pictured) during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile Oct. 12, 2020.
The march was organized by Indigenous groups demanding autonomy and the recovery of ancestral land.

A demonstrator plays a trutruka in front of a burning bus stop during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile Oct. 12, 2020.

A demonstrator gestures toward riot police (not pictured) during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile Oct. 12, 2020.

A demonstrator clashes with riot police during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

Riot police stand guard during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

A bus stop is set on fire during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

People look toward a vandalized monument to the police during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

A demonstrator dances during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

Workers clean the statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, surrounded by metal fencing during Columbus Day in Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

Police officers scuffle with protesters who want to topple the statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus during Columbus Day in Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

A man writes on a fence as an empty pedestal where a statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus used to stand before it was taken off by the municipality, in Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

Police officers stand guard in front of metal fencing surrounding the statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

Police officers stand guard in front of metal fencing surrounding the statue of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus during Columbus Day in Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

A woman holds up her hands painted red to symbolize blood during a protest against Spanish colonization as police stand by as protesters mark Decolonization Day, in La Paz, Bolivia, Oct. 12, 2020.

Police block the march of people protesting the discovery of the Americas as it would have passed by the presidential palace. Fire from a Molotov cocktail explodes and a police vehicle shoots a water cannon at protesters in Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

Activists protest Spanish colonization at the Christopher Columbus monument, which they painted red to symbolize blood in La Paz, Bolivia, Oct. 12, 2020.

A demonstrator gestures next to riot police during a protest march by Mapuche activists against Columbus Day in downtown Santiago, Chile, Oct. 12, 2020.

A line of around 50 demonstrators holds one end of a rope while the other end is secured to a stone obelisk in Santa Fe, New Mexico Oct. 12, 2020.
In July, activists called for the monument to be removed during peaceful protests. On Monday, a group of around 50 protesters pulled down segments of the memorial, which commemorates federal soldiers who fought against Indigenous people in the 19th century. A reference to "savage" Indians was chiseled from the monument decades ago.

Demonstrators secure a rope around the centerpiece of a solid stone obelisk before tearing it down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.

Demonstrators celebrate on the base of a stone obelisk torn down in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Oct. 12, 2020.