Honestly, the shift from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day isn't just a simple name change on a calendar. It’s a massive, decades-long movement that’s still unfolding in real-time across North America. You’ve probably seen the headlines or the social media debates every October. Some people act like the holiday just appeared out of nowhere in 2021 when President Biden signed the first-ever presidential proclamation for it. But that's not even close to the full story.
The truth is way more gritty.
It started in 1977 at a United Nations conference in Geneva. Indigenous delegates from across the Americas proposed the idea because they were tired of a narrative that basically erased their existence before 1492. Think about that. For nearly half a century, people have been pushing for this recognition. It’s not just about "being woke" or rewriting history; it's about actually telling the whole history.
Why We Started Calling It Indigenous Peoples' Day
For a long time, the second Monday in October was strictly about Christopher Columbus. But for many Native communities, celebrating Columbus felt like celebrating the start of a genocide. That's a heavy word, but it’s the one many historians use when looking at the systemic collapse of populations through disease, warfare, and forced labor following 1492.
Berkeley, California, was the first city to officially make the jump. In 1992—the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival—they decided to flip the script. They called it Indigenous Peoples' Day to honor the people who were already here, flourishing in complex societies long before a lost Italian explorer bumped into the Caribbean.
Since then, it’s been a domino effect.
States like South Dakota actually led the way early on, though they initially called it Native American Day back in 1990. Now, you have Maine, New Mexico, Vermont, and dozens of others following suit. Even big tech companies and school districts are updating their HR handbooks. It’s basically a cultural sea change that’s moved from the fringes of activism right into the mainstream.
The Columbus Controversy is Complicated
We should talk about the Italian-American perspective for a second because it’s a big part of why this shift is so contentious in places like New York or Chicago. For many Italian immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Columbus was a symbol of their own acceptance in a country that often treated them like second-class citizens. They were facing lynchings and intense discrimination. Columbus was their "in."
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So, when you see people getting heated about the name change, it’s often because they feel like their heritage is being erased. However, many advocates for Indigenous Peoples' Day argue that you can celebrate Italian-American heritage without tethering it to a figure whose primary legacy involves the transatlantic slave trade. Some cities are trying to find a middle ground by celebrating "Italian Heritage Day" on a different date, but the friction is definitely still there.
It’s Not Just One Group of People
One of the biggest misconceptions is that "Indigenous" refers to a single, monolithic culture. It doesn't. We're talking about over 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. alone. Each has its own language, government, and creation stories.
- The Navajo Nation (Diné) has a land base larger than West Virginia.
- The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy influenced the very structure of the U.S. Constitution.
- The Wampanoag people, who are often relegated to "Thanksgiving characters" in school plays, are a living, breathing community in Massachusetts today.
When we observe Indigenous Peoples' Day, it’s an acknowledgment of this diversity. It’s about the fact that the Taino people—the ones Columbus first encountered—didn't just "disappear." Their DNA lives on in millions of people across Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The Impact of Federal Recognition
When the White House issued that proclamation in 2021, it changed the vibe of the holiday. It wasn't just a "protest holiday" anymore. It became an official part of the national dialogue. But—and this is a big "but"—it’s still not a federal holiday in the sense that post offices close specifically for it. It usually shares the day with the existing federal holiday of Columbus Day.
This creates a weird legal limbo.
In some states, you get the day off. In others, it’s business as usual. This lack of uniformity is why you see different names on your iPhone calendar depending on which update you’ve installed. It’s sort of a reflection of where America is at right now: caught between two very different versions of its own origin story.
What Recognition Actually Does
Does a name change fix the fact that many tribal lands lack clean water? No. Does it solve the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)? Of course not. But representation matters in a way that’s hard to quantify.
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When a kid sees Indigenous Peoples' Day on a school calendar, they aren't just learning about a "discovered" wilderness. They’re learning about a continent that was already a patchwork of nations. It shifts the starting point of American history. Instead of starting with a boat in 1492, history starts thousands of years earlier with the Mississippian mound builders or the complex irrigation systems of the Ancestral Puebloans.
How People Actually Celebrate Now
It’s not all somber speeches and protests. In many cities, it’s a massive party.
In New York City, there’s usually a big sunrise ceremony on Randall’s Island. People bring drums, tobacco, and traditional foods. It’s beautiful, honestly. It’s about resilience. You’ll see teenagers in streetwear dancing alongside elders in full regalia. It’s a way of saying, "We're still here, and we're not just a footnote in a history book."
In the Southwest, you might see art markets and hoop dancing. In the Pacific Northwest, it might be a canoe journey. The point is that the celebration is as varied as the tribes themselves.
Beyond the Name: Real Issues Still on the Table
If you really want to understand the weight of Indigenous Peoples' Day, you have to look at the legal battles happening in the background. Land Back movements are gaining steam. This isn't necessarily about kicking people out of their suburban homes; it’s about returning management of public lands—like National Parks—to the tribes that lived there for millennia.
Look at the Black Hills in South Dakota. To the Lakota, it’s the "Heart of Everything That Is." To the U.S. government, it’s a tourist spot with faces carved into the granite. The Supreme Court even ruled in 1980 that the land was taken illegally, but the Lakota have consistently refused a cash settlement. They want the land. These are the kinds of deep, systemic issues that the holiday brings to the surface.
Environmental Stewardship
Indigenous communities protect about 80% of the world's remaining biodiversity. That’s a staggering stat from the World Bank. So, Indigenous Peoples' Day has also become a major touchpoint for climate activism. Many people use the day to highlight how traditional ecological knowledge can help us survive wildfires, droughts, and rising sea levels. It turns out that the people who lived on this land for 10,000 years might know a thing or two about how to take care of it.
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Common Myths That Just Won't Die
- "Indigenous people all get free money from the government." Total myth. Most tribal members don't receive "checks" just for being Native. While some tribes with successful casinos or resource deals provide per-capita payments, that's tribal money, not government money.
- "The holiday is about hating Italians." Nope. As mentioned before, it’s about centering the people who were victims of the expansion that Columbus kicked off. You can love pasta and still admit that the 15th-century Caribbean was a rough place to be an Indigenous person.
- "They were all warring tribes anyway." This is a classic "justification" narrative. While there was certainly conflict between tribes—just like there was in Europe—there were also vast trade networks, peace treaties, and sophisticated diplomatic systems.
Actionable Steps for the Second Monday in October
Instead of just posting a hashtag, there are actually useful ways to engage with the day.
Identify the land you’re on. Use an app like Native Land Digital. It’s a trip to see which nations used to hunt, farm, and live exactly where your house sits right now. It changes your perspective on "property."
Support Indigenous creators directly. If you’re going to buy turquoise jewelry or beaded work, make sure it’s authentic. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 actually makes it illegal to sell "Indian-style" jewelry if it wasn't made by a tribal member, but knock-offs are everywhere. Buy from the source.
Read a book by an Indigenous author. Skip the "history written by the winners" stuff for a day. Pick up The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich or Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. These voices provide a nuance that you just won't find in a standard textbook.
Check your local government. If your city still officially calls it Columbus Day, look into the local movements trying to change it. There are usually grassroots organizations that could use a hand with petitioning or attending town hall meetings.
Donate to the right places. Look into the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). They do the heavy lifting in the courtrooms, fighting for voting rights and water rights. Or check out the First Nations Development Institute, which focuses on economic health in tribal communities.
The shift toward Indigenous Peoples' Day is a sign of a maturing culture. It’s about being brave enough to look at the past—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and deciding that the future should be a bit more inclusive. It's a small change on a calendar that represents a huge leap in how we understand our place in the world.
To truly honor the spirit of the day, start by learning the specific history of the tribes in your own state. Each region has its own story of survival and adaptation that is likely more incredible than anything you learned in middle school. Take the time to look up the current initiatives of the tribes nearest to you, whether it's language revitalization programs or land restoration projects, and see where your support can make a tangible difference.