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
achtung23 dayscolumbus didn't discover a single thing. actually, people arrived here around 15,000 years ago, way earlier than leif erikson, so there is NO discoverer. so I think it should be called indigenous people's day
patrick-jane19 daysHe found the bahamas and Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and Jamaica
tutzhoneychurch24 daysmind u he literally stole the land, stole culture, was the cause of the murder of several native americans, colonized the ENTIRE country as a whole and you people STILL think its columbus day.
dogs-jesus5024 daysOk I 100% agree like how are people even considering this!? Obviously it should be Indigenious People's Day, not Christopher ColDUMBbus.- revamiryjedi22 daysGood one!
- patrick-jane19 daysHe was a really good explorer, plus indigenious wern't the first, the norse were actually
olivia54643 daysindigenous people were here before the norse. 20,000 years ago!
jagucefabagi24 daysmy opinion is that it should be called Columbus day, NOT indigenous peoples day!!!!!!!
present_mic15 daysHe led to the DEATH of many native people he was not a good person
- jagucefabagi24 daysCHRISTIPHER COLOMBUS DID FIND AMERICA! godismysavior is right!
- dogs-jesus5024 daysNO, LEAF ERIKSON DID!!!!!!! Columbus is not a good guy and he does not deserve a day named after him.
- xzayy24 daysin my opinion this is so wrong .
- xzayy24 daysok in my opinion Columbus day ( mateo)
- xzayy24 daysThis is very interesting.
- xzayy24 daysthis is cool beans.
- xzayy25 daysi also think that it should be indigenous peoples day because columbus didnt ask for the land he just took it
- rojilijanumo25 daysI also think that it should be Indigenous People's Day because Columbus didn't ask for the land he just took it and that's not right its straight up rude
