The Native American organization that holds the National Day of Mourning every Thanksgiving in Plymouth sued the town, claiming that new insurance and indemnity requirements breach a 1998 agreement and violates the group’s First Amendment rights.

On Nov. 25, Plymouth Superior Court Judge Daniel Leighton issued an order forbidding the town from requiring an insurance policy, indemnity or permitting. The order also requires Plymouth to provide a stage on Cole’s Hill, in conformity with the 1998 agreement and almost 30 years of practice.

The United American Indians of New England and its co-leader, Mahtowin Monro, a woman of the Oglala Sioux tribe who lives in Sherborn, filed a request for emergency injunctive relief in Plymouth Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 24. The court order was issued the following day, hours after a hearing.

Leighton’s order requires United American Indians of New England to release the town from liability associated with speakers’ and participants’ use of the town-provided stage. It also orders both parties to meet prior to February 2026 to negotiate arrangements for future observances of the National Day of Morning.