Did You Know?
Oklahoma's governor is required to issue a proclamation for a day celebrating each of the state's 39 Native American tribes, on a date of the tribe's choosing.
Indigenous Peoples' Day
🇺🇸 United States
- Public Holiday
- Regional
- Fixed date
Overview
Indigenous Peoples' Day honors the Indigenous peoples of the United States and commemorates their histories and cultures. Celebrated on the second Monday of October, it began as an alternative to Columbus Day and is now an official holiday in a growing number of states and localities.
What It Is
Observance depends on where you are. States including Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, and South Dakota, which calls it Native Americans' Day, have established the second Monday of October as an official holiday, as has Washington, D.C. Some states share the day with Columbus Day, and others honor Native Americans on different dates or recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day without making it an official holiday.
Why It Matters
The idea grew out of a 1977 United Nations-sponsored conference in Geneva on discrimination against Indigenous populations in the Americas, where delegates discussed replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day. In 1990 Indigenous representatives meeting in Quito, Ecuador, marked the approaching 1992 anniversary of Columbus's first voyage as a year to promote continental unity and liberation, and activists in Northern California then organized protests against events honoring that anniversary. Supporters say the holiday acknowledges the lasting harm Indigenous peoples suffered after European colonization.
Holiday in Context
The day sits alongside other Indigenous-focused observances. Several states mark Native American Day or heritage days on other dates, and the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9. Its date also overlaps with Columbus Day, which remains the federal holiday.
Countries Celebrating
1 country
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