Today Is A Double Holiday

Today marks not one, but two holidays – Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day.  

While Columbus Day dates back to the 1700’s and became an official national holiday in 1934, Indigenous People’s Day wasn’t formally acknowledged at the federal level until President Biden did so in 2021.

The movement to create Indigenous Peoples’ Day began in the late 1960’s.  South Dakota was the first state to officially adopt the holiday in 1990.

Today, the holiday is officially celebrated in 15 states and more than 130 cities on the second Monday of October.

But there are a few questions that are automatically raised about the day… Should the federal government officially make Indigenous Peoples’ Day a national holiday?  Would you have it replace Columbus Day, or celebrate both?

-Tony Lee