Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples' Day? The Debate Rages On

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Columbus Day celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas (Credit: Dioscoro Puebla / Public domain/Wikipedia.org)

Columbus Day, which is commemorated annually on the second Monday in October, has been a US federal holiday since 1934. However, the celebration, honoring Christopher Columbus's arrival to the Americas, has always been somewhat controversial due to the European settlers' brutal treatment of the Native American people. It has also been argued that the indigenous people had already "discovered" America by the time Columbus landed on the Bahamian island he named San Salvador on October 12, 1492.

While some states, such as Oregon, Iowa, and Nebraska, never observed the holiday, others began altering their celebration as the years passed. Hawaii renamed the holiday "Discoverers' Day" — in honor of the state’s Polynesian founders — in 1971, while South Dakota changed it to "Native American Day" in 1990. As public awareness increased, numerous schools and universities across the country also stopped marking the event. A 2015 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that Columbus Day was the most inconsistently celebrated US holiday.

Map of the US states (in green) that have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day or Native American Day (Credit: Kaldari / CC0/Wikipedia..org)

Though the shift in sentiment was encouraging, many people were still not happy that Columbus Day remained an official federal holiday. In 1977, a delegation of Native nations, attending the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, suggested renaming Columbus Day to "Indigenous Peoples’ Day." They believed the change would help honor the victims of American colonization. The resolution passed by an overwhelming majority, but implementing the change was not easy.

In 1992, Berkeley, CA, became the first city to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with Santa Cruz, CA, following shortly after, in 1994. However, the momentum slowed down again until 2014, when Minneapolis, MN, Grand Rapids, MN, and Seattle, WA, decided to adopt the change. Since then, over 100 cities and states and numerous universities nationwide have switched to the new name.

On March 11, 2020, Colorado passed legislation to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini. The Italian-American Roman Catholic nun is credited with establishing 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States and South and Central America throughout her lifetime. On September 4, 2020, Arizona governor Doug Ducey signed a proclamation that recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day on Oct. 12, 2020. However, it does not replace Columbus Day as a federal holiday.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations in Berkeley, CA on October 13, 2012 (Credit: Quinn Dombrowski/ CC BY-SA-2.0 /Creativecommons.org)

The movement to alter the name has also gained ground in Latin America. Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Uruguay have all renamed Columbus Day to “Dia de la Raza,” or “Day of the Race." The holiday celebrates Latin America's mixed indigenous and European heritage and culture. Venezuela and Nicaragua's "Día de la Resistencia Indígena," or "Indigenous Resistance Day," honors the indigenous population's past and ongoing struggles.

However, not everyone believes a name change is necessary. Italian Americans, who have made Columbus Day the centerpiece of Italian Heritage Month — which is celebrated throughout October— argue the holiday honors the history of immigration, not the explorer. Therefore, they believe the name should be retained or changed to something more appropriate, like Italian Heritage Day. What do you think? Be sure to let us know by adding your comments below.

Resources: CNN.com, Wikipedia.org

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243 Comments
  • ashwas00fed
    ashwas00fedover 3 years
    and i want dog treats🍽
  • grimauxilitrixx
    grimauxilitrixxover 3 years
    I believe that Indigenous Peoples' Day should be celebrated instead of Columbus Day. Columbus was a horrible person, he should be ashamed of the things he's done. The Native Americans were here first, he was searching for gold. He also made up the term "Indians" for them.
    • patricianfosure
      patricianfosureover 3 years
      Dude he kinda thought he was in India so yeah Indians... And plus we don't know FOR SURE that he was mean
    • sassydogegger
      sassydogeggerover 3 years
      If Columbus was a bad person, why should we celebrate Columbus Day?
      • 147magnateleto
        147magnateletoover 3 years
        Columbus was a horrible person he should be ashamed
        • determinedowl23
          determinedowl23over 3 years
          Looks like my state replaced Columbus day. The rest should too. In reality, Columbus never made it north of the Caribbean. Plus, the Native Americans were the first to live in the in this land, so Indigenous People's Day would be much better. Columbus was pretty mean, too.
          • liz_legend_13
            liz_legend_13over 2 years
            My state, South Dakota, happened to lead in the efforts by renaming Columbus Day to Native American Day, making them the first state to do so (that includes Indigenous Peoples' Day).
          • ariannagotgo
            ariannagotgoover 3 years
            I think indigenous day should be celebrated because Columbus came and said we were the first ones that came to the USA
            • gold3nglare
              gold3nglareover 3 years
              People are actually petitioning to have it changed to Indigenous Peoples' day.
              • angrypomeranian
                angrypomeranianover 3 years
                Why should we celebrate someone who was very mean to other people? I mean he was a bad person for the things he did.
              • dangerkitty
                dangerkittyover 3 years
                I think we should celebrate Indigneous Peoples' Day because Columbus did not discover America, he only came there to get a whole bunch of gold... Sorry if I accidentally offend any of you, I am stating my opinion here... :T
                • ronan911
                  ronan911over 1 year
                  no, Columbus only came to America because he thought it was India
                • bostonterierblu
                  bostonterierbluover 3 years
                  we deserve the right to choose what we do