Current:Home > MyWhat is Indigenous Peoples' Day? What to know about push to eliminate Columbus Day -Horizon Finance School
What is Indigenous Peoples' Day? What to know about push to eliminate Columbus Day
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:42:51
Monday is becoming increasingly known as Indigenous Peoples' Day, a commemoration of Native American history and culture.
While the second Monday in October has historically been celebrated as Columbus Day and is still federally recognized as such, many have pushed for moving away from the holiday to acknowledge the atrocities Columbus committed against people living in the Americas long before his arrival.
Indigenous Peoples' Day has been federally recognized through proclamation for the past three years. In 2023, President Joe Biden proclaimed the day to “honor perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples.”
While not everywhere in the U.S. recognizes Indigenous Peoples' Day, advocates say it's important to denounce Columbus’ violent history and recognize Native American communities today.
Here is what to know:
More:The pilgrims didn't invite Native Americans to a feast. Why the Thanksgiving myth matters.
Is Indigenous Peoples' Day an official holiday?
It depends on where you live, but Columbus Day is still a federal holiday.
Approximately 29 states and Washington, D.C. do not celebrate Columbus Day. About 216 cities have renamed it or replaced it with Indigenous Peoples' Day, according to renamecolumbusday.org. Some states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day via proclamation, while others treat it as an official holiday.
At the federal level, Indigenous Peoples' Day has received presidential proclamations from the Biden administration for the last three years.
"Indigenous peoples are a beacon of resilience, strength, and perseverance as well as a source of incredible contributions. Indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations continue to practice their cultures, remember their heritages, and pass down their histories from generation to generation," Biden wrote in the 2023 proclamation on the holiday.
Why are some states abandoning Columbus Day?
The grade school lesson about the explorer Christopher Columbus sailing the "ocean blue" is incomplete.
Indigenous communities lived in the Western Hemisphere for tens of thousands of years before Columbus arrived, and contact with European colonies led to devastating loss of life, tradition and land for American Indians, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Critics of the current federal holiday point out that Columbus committed several crimes against humanity when he reached the Western Hemisphere. Here are some examples of those atrocities, as compiled by Philadelphia Magazine:
- Columbus cut off the hands of approximately 10,000 natives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic because they failed to provide gold every three months.
- Columbus cut off the legs of native children who tried to run from them.
- He aided in sex trafficking nine and ten-year-old girls.
Moving away from Columbus Day and celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day helps to recognize Indigenous perspectives for a more complete look at history, the museum states.
By celebrating Indigenous People's Day, the museum says we can also recognize the Native Americans who are still here and fighting for recognition and environmental rights.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Have you been financially impacted by a weather disaster? Tell us about it
- Lawsuit seeks up to $11.5M over allegations that Oregon nurse replaced fentanyl drip with tap water
- Registrar encourages Richmond voters to consider alternatives to mailing in absentee ballots
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Leader of Georgia state Senate Democrats won’t seek office again this year
- Cameo is being used for political propaganda — by tricking the stars involved
- Alabama lawmakers look for IVF solution as patients remain in limbo
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Miranda Kerr Gives Birth to Baby No. 4, Her 3rd With Evan Spiegel
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- South Dakota voters asked to approve work requirement for Medicaid expansion
- Chiefs coach Andy Reid shares uplifting message for Kansas City in wake of parade shooting
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Meta to spend 20% of next year on metaverse projects.
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Ariana Grande Addresses Media Attention Amid Ethan Slater Romance
- 3-year-old fatally shot after man 'aggressively' accused girlfriend of infidelity, officials say
- Jacob Rothschild, financier from a family banking dynasty, dies at 87
Recommendation
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Review: Dazzling 'Shogun' is the genuine TV epic you've been waiting for
New York City medical school students to receive free tuition moving forward thanks to historic donation
Why Macy's is closing 150 department stores
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
U.S. and U.K. conduct fourth round of joint airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen
DEA cracks down on pill presses in latest front in the fight against fentanyl
Ole Anderson, founding member of the pro wrestling team known as The Four Horsemen, has died