Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples' Day?
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On October 12, 2026, people across the United States will observe a holiday with two different names. Some will celebrate it as Columbus Day, while others will mark it as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Columbus Day honors Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer who arrived in the Americas on October 12, 1492. But Columbus’s role in history has long been debated. Critics argue that his arrival led to the colonization and mistreatment of Native Americans.
Historians also point out that Columbus did not “discover” the Americas. Indigenous peoples had already been living there for thousands of years when he arrived. He was also not the first European to reach North America. A Norse explorer named Leif Erikson reached the continent around AD 1000. This was almost 500 years before Columbus’s arrival.
Due to these concerns, some states chose not to celebrate Columbus Day. Hawaii renamed the holiday Discoverers' Day in 1971 to honor its Polynesian founders. South Dakota began calling it Native American Day in 1990. Over the years, many schools and universities also stopped observing the holiday.
In 1977, a group of Native American leaders suggested changing the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day." They wanted to honor those mistreated by the early settlers. Berkeley, CA, was the first city to make the change in 1992. Since then, over 100 cities and several states have adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day. In 2021, President Joe Biden officially recognized the holiday. He asked Americans to celebrate it on the second Monday of October, along with Columbus Day.
But not everyone agrees that a name change is needed. For Italian Americans, Columbus Day is an important part of Italian Heritage Month, observed every October. They say that the holiday celebrates Italian culture, not Columbus. Some have even suggested changing the name to "Italian Heritage Day."
The ongoing debate shows that history can be complicated. But no matter the name, the holiday is a time to think about the past and remember the people we honor.
Resources: Wikipedia.org, History.com, CNN.com
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46 Comments
cozyfox17 daysi feel it should be Indigenous Peoples' Day
lviwolf17 daysI don't know, but we'll find out in the future!
vuwuririgyge18 dayswhy fight over a name?- buzzkill2115 daysBecause millions of Native Americans have died because of Columbus and honoring him is insane.
tzv3518 dayspeople could call it whatever they want no matter what heritage they come from
wavosasajyby18 daysI think that people can selabrate wha they want to
zezekolumene18 daysI LOVED IT- padesavidedo19 daysit sounds good to me
fobujuminute19 daysIndigenous Peoples' Day is today
patrick-jane19 dayswhy dont they just make two different days than arguing about the name of one day?
kqiu123 daysI love this.
