Honestly, the calendar is a mess. Every October, the same friction returns to the American psyche. You’ve seen it on your social media feed: one person posting about "discovering" a New World and another posting about ancestral resilience and 500 years of survival. It’s a tug-of-war over a single Monday in October. But the transition from Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day isn't just some modern "woke" trend or a simple name change. It is a massive, decades-long shift in how we actually tell the story of where we live.
We were all taught the rhyme in grade school. 1492. The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. It’s clean. It’s easy to memorize. But history is never actually clean.
For a long time, Columbus Day was a way for Italian Americans to say, "Hey, we belong here too." They were facing intense discrimination in the late 19th century—even a mass lynching in New Orleans in 1891. President Benjamin Harrison actually proclaimed a one-time celebration of Columbus in 1892 partly to smooth over diplomatic tensions with Italy after those murders. That’s a bit of trivia most people miss. The holiday wasn't born out of a pure love for maritime navigation; it was a political tool for inclusion. But while it helped one group feel American, it simultaneously erased the people who were already here.
The Shift to Indigenous Peoples’ Day
The push to flip the script started way earlier than you might think. It didn't start on Twitter. It started in 1977 at a United Nations conference in Geneva. Indigenous delegates from around the world proposed replacing Columbus Day with a day that honored the victims of colonization rather than the man who kickstarted the process.
Fast forward to 1992. It was the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s landing. While the federal government was planning massive celebrations, the city of Berkeley, California, decided to do something different. They became the first U.S. city to officially celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
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Why?
Because when you look at the primary sources—like Columbus’s own logs or the writings of Bartolomé de las Casas—the "discovery" looks more like a violent land grab. Las Casas, who was a contemporary of Columbus, wrote extensively about the brutal treatment of the Taíno people. We’re talking about forced labor in gold mines and extreme violence. When people advocate for Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day to lean toward the latter, they are usually pointing to these specific, documented historical records. It’s about accuracy over mythology.
Who is actually making the switch?
It’s a patchwork. That’s the reality of it. As of 2026, the federal government still recognizes Columbus Day as a legal holiday. However, the White House has issued proclamations for Indigenous Peoples’ Day for several years running. It’s a weird middle ground where the banks are closed for one name, but the sentiment of the country is moving toward another.
Over a dozen states—including Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, and New Mexico—and more than 100 cities have officially ditched the explorer’s name or added Indigenous Peoples' Day to the ticket. South Dakota actually beat everyone to the punch in 1990 by renaming it Native Americans' Day. They didn't wait for the 500th anniversary; they just did it.
Why the Controversy Won’t Die
People get defensive about statues. It's human nature. If you grew up seeing Columbus as a hero of Italian heritage and Western progress, seeing those statues come down feels like an attack on your identity.
But the counter-argument is pretty heavy. For Indigenous communities, celebrating Columbus is like celebrating the beginning of the end. It marks the start of the Great Dying, where up to 90% of the Indigenous population in the Americas perished due to disease, warfare, and slavery. You can't really "both sides" that kind of demographic collapse.
There's also the factual problem of "discovery." You can't discover a place where millions of people are already living, trading, and building cities. The Taíno people in the Caribbean had a complex social structure. The Cahokia Mounds in Illinois were once part of a city larger than London was at the same time. The "wilderness" wasn't empty. It was managed, farmed, and inhabited.
The Economic and Legal Reality
Changing a holiday isn't just about changing a line on a calendar. It affects school curriculums, state budgets, and even retail sales. In states like New Mexico, Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day has become a focal point for tourism that actually honors the 19 Pueblos, the Apache, and the Navajo (Diné) nations. It shifts the "lifestyle" focus of the holiday from a generic day off to a day of cultural markets and education.
- Federal Status: It remains one of the ten federal holidays.
- State Level: Most states still observe it as Columbus Day, but the number of "Indigenous Peoples' Day" states is growing every year.
- The "Both" Approach: Some places, like Alabama, observe both names simultaneously. It's a bit of a linguistic mouthful, but it's where we are right now.
What You Should Actually Do on This Day
If you're looking to move past the social media bickering and actually engage with the day, there are practical ways to do it. It’s not just about feeling guilty or being angry; it’s about learning the actual history of the land you're standing on.
First, find out whose land you’re on. There’s a great tool called Native-Land.ca. It’s an interactive map that shows you the ancestral territories of Indigenous tribes. You’d be surprised how often the names of our towns and rivers are just slightly butchered versions of the original Indigenous names.
Second, look for Indigenous-led organizations. Instead of buying "Native-inspired" art from a big-box store, find actual artists from the tribes in your region. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 actually makes it illegal to sell products that suggest they are produced by Native Americans when they aren't. Supporting the real deal matters.
Third, read the primary sources. Don't take a textbook's word for it. Read the journals. Read the letters. When you see the actual words written by the people who were there in the 15th and 16th centuries, the nuance of Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day becomes much clearer. You realize it’s not a "liberal" or "conservative" issue. It’s a "what actually happened" issue.
Moving Beyond the October Debate
The conversation shouldn't start and end in the second week of October. That's the biggest mistake people make. Indigenous history isn't a seasonal topic. It's the foundation of American history.
We often talk about Indigenous people in the past tense. "They lived here." "They hunted there." But there are 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. today. They are very much in the present tense. They are lawyers, doctors, engineers, and activists. They are dealing with modern issues like water rights, healthcare sovereignty, and the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
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Focusing on the name of a holiday is a start, but it’s the bare minimum. The real work is in understanding the treaties that were broken and the ones that are still in effect. It’s about acknowledging that the "American Dream" had a very different cost for different people.
To truly honor the intent behind Indigenous Peoples’ Day, look into the Land Back movement or the efforts to revitalize Indigenous languages that were nearly wiped out by boarding schools. These are active, ongoing stories. They aren't stuck in 1492.
Actionable Steps for the Curious:
- Check the Map: Use the Native Land Digital map to identify the specific tribes historically tied to your current zip code.
- Audit Your Sources: Look at your bookshelf. Do you have any history written by Indigenous authors like Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz or David Treuer? If not, change that.
- Local Events: Skip the mall sales. Look for local tribal events or educational webinars hosted by museums like the National Museum of the American Indian.
- Support Authenticity: When purchasing Indigenous goods, verify they are compliant with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to ensure your money actually goes to Native communities.
Understanding the complexity of Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day doesn't mean you have to "cancel" your heritage. It means expanding your perspective enough to realize that history is a big, messy, often painful room with enough space for the truth, even when the truth is uncomfortable.