Why Columbus Day Is Becoming Indigenous Peoples’ Day

For generations, the second Monday in October was known simply as Columbus Day, a federal holiday recognizing Christopher Columbus and his 1492 voyage across the Atlantic. In recent decades, however, a growing number of states and communities have chosen to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead—or recognize both holidays.

The change has not been without controversy. Some Americans see replacing Columbus Day as another example of political correctness or an attempt to judge historical figures entirely by modern standards. For many Italian Americans in particular, Columbus Day also developed into an important celebration of Italian American heritage at a time when Italian immigrants faced discrimination in the United States. Those concerns are an important part of the discussion, and changing the holiday does not require dismissing the cultural significance it has held for generations.

Supporters of Indigenous Peoples’ Day argue that the traditional Columbus Day story leaves out an equally important part of American history. Columbus was not the first person to reach the Americas, nor did he arrive in an uninhabited land. Indigenous civilizations had existed throughout the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. European colonization that followed brought disease, warfare, enslavement, forced relocation and the loss of Indigenous lands and cultures on an enormous scale.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian notes that focusing exclusively on Columbus can obscure both those consequences and the experiences of the people already living here. Indigenous Peoples’ Day shifts the emphasis toward the history, cultures, survival and continuing contributions of Native peoples. It is also a reminder that Indigenous history did not end with European settlement; Native communities remain a living and diverse part of the United States today.

The idea itself is not new. Britannica traces modern Indigenous Peoples’ Day observances to efforts by Native activists and communities to reconsider how the Columbus anniversary was commemorated. Over time, states, cities and other governments began adopting the alternative observance, generally on the same second Monday in October traditionally associated with Columbus Day.

Ultimately, the change is more than changing the name printed on a calendar. History becomes more complete when it includes the experiences of people who were often left out of earlier versions of the story. Americans can recognize the role Columbus and European exploration played in world history—and acknowledge the importance Columbus Day has held for many Italian Americans—while also confronting the consequences that colonization had for Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day asks us not to erase history, but to broaden it. Recognizing the people who were here long before 1492 gives us a fuller understanding of the complicated history that eventually produced the nation we know today.