Is it Columbus or Indigenous Peoples Day?

Usually on the second Monday of October, Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the Indigenous communities which have lived on the continent for thousands of years.

The day became increasingly popular as a replacement for Columbus Day, which is meant to celebrate the explorer who sailed to an island in the Americas with a crew from Spain in 1492.

Three years after President Joe Biden became the first US president to formally commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, over a dozen states have recognized a version of the holiday in lieu of what was originally Columbus Day.

More than 100 cities now celebrate the holiday, heeding calls from Indigenous communities and activists not to celebrate Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator named after the holiday.

Rights groups said that Columbus brought genocide and colonisation to Indigenous communities that had long been living in the Americas for thousands of years.

However, many across the United States still celebrate Columbus Day to commemorate their Italian ancestry.

Some members of Indigenous communities have said that recognizing the day, which falls on Monday, October 14 this year, does not do enough justice.

Last year, lawmakers from the House and Senate reintroduced a bill which would establish the day as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October, replacing Columbus Day.z

Tribes such as the Navajo Nation and the Cherokee Nation have voiced support for the bill.

Ahead of the president’s initial proclamation in 2021, many US cities and states were observing the day.

South Dakota is apparently the first state to officially recognize the day as Native American Day in 1990.

Native Americans comprise 8.5% of the state’s population, according to the 2022 census.

Vermont, Alaska, and Oregon, are some of the states which have officially adopted the day as a holiday, while many other states recognize the day through proclamations.

Supporters of the day state that a recognition may help bring attention to some of the ways Indigenous communities are still victims of discrimination and are disproportionately affected by climate change, gender violence, and health issues.

The day would likely highlight Indigenous lands being subjected to mining, drilling, and both public and private projects.