MELBOURNE (Reuters – On Wednesday, protests against Indigenous abuses took place across Australia as citizenship ceremonies were conducted to celebrate Australia’s National Day.

Jan. 26, 2017 is the public holiday. It marks the day that the British fleet entered Sydney Harbour in 1788. They were looking to create a penal colony and considered the land unoccupied, despite the presence of settlements.

It is, however, “Invasion Day” for Indigenous Australians. They can trace their descent back to Australia over 50,000 year.

At the Canberra national flag-raising event and citizenship ceremony, Prime Minister Scott Morrison honored traditional custodians.

“We recognise Indigenous peoples right across our land from the Torres Strait Islander people in the north, to the people in Tasmania, to the people across the Nullarbor in Perth and the Larrakia people in the Top End,” Morrison said.

“Like the country itself, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are diverse, they’re unique and they connect us through time.”

Later in the day, protests were organized in Sydney, Canberra and other Australian cities.

Overnight, in Melbourne, red paint was applied to a monument honoring Captain James Cook who arrived in Pacific 252 year ago, which triggered British colonization.

Australia’s approximately 700,000 Indigenous citizens are near the bottom in most economic and social indicators.

Although the Australian Day debate continues, Roy Morgan conducted a poll this week and found that almost two-thirds (63%) of Australians think Jan. 26 should not be considered Australia Day. A third believe it should instead be called Invasion Day.