Typically on the second Monday of October, Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years. It became increasingly popular as a replacement for Columbus Day, which was meant to celebrate the explorer who sailed with a crew from Spain in three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, in 1492.
In a proclamation for last year’s holiday, President Biden said that Indigenous Peoples’ Day is intended to “honor the sovereignty, resilience and immense contributions that Native Americans have made to the world.”
But he added that “we have more to do to help lift Tribal communities from the shadow of our broken promises, to protect their right to vote and to help them access other opportunities that their ancestors were long denied.”
This month, lawmakers from the House and Senate reintroduced a bill that would establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October, replacing Columbus Day. The bill, according to the lawmakers, has 56 co-sponsors in the House and several co-sponsors in the Senate. Tribes including the Cherokee Nation and the Navajo Nation have expressed their support.
Before the president’s initial proclamation in 2021, many U.S. cities and states were observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Colleges and companies have also increasingly recognized it. South Dakota is believed to be the first state to have officially recognized the day (as Native American Day) in 1990. Native Americans make up about 8.5 percent of the state’s population, according to census figures from 2022. Alaska, Oregon and Vermont are among the states that also officially established the day as a holiday; many other states recognize it through proclamations. Cities like Berkeley, Calif., Seattle and Minneapolis also were early adopters.
Betts, A., Delkic, M. (2023, October 8). Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Explained: What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/indigenous-peoples-day.html
