In 1934 Franklin D. Roosevelt declared October 12th a national holiday– no school, no work, no banks, not even federal jobs to commemorate Christopher Colombus for his arrival to the Americas.

However it was South Dakota who first decided in 1990 to deviate from the focus of the holiday. 

They turned Columbus Day to Native American’s Day to honor the Inidgenous people in South Dakota. 

Soon after many states, not all, began celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day.  

Chairperson for the Lake Erie Native American Council, Marlys Rambeau said, “I just don’t understand what there is to celebrate.

“The whole Christopher Colombus myth needs to be put to rest.”

Inidigenous Peoples Day is a day to honor the Native Americans culture and their stories. 

Fourteen states and over 130 cities have decided to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples day. 

People who are against Columbus Day claim that he is not someone that deserves a national holiday since he paved the way to the genoicde of Native Americans and of colonization. 

On a 2017 survey, by the Marist Poll, over 1,200 Americans were asked whether they opposed Columbus Day or not; six in ten favored Columbus Day.

And in a 2019 poll, college students were asked the same question and had a turnout of 79% of students agreeing with changing the holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day.

Coronado High School senior David Castro, said “I remember my family planning road trips for Columbus Day weekend every year. 

“This year Coronado had a two-week intercession and it fell during Columbus Day so technically I didn’t have school”

“I had heard from other schools that they didn’t get Columbus Day off and they were upset about having school.

“I thought they were pretty selfish because they were complaining of not getting a day off instead of trying to understand the reason behind the issue.”

This summer when things got heated and riots rose for Geroge Floyd and against police brutality, a Christopher Colombus statue was torn down and thrown into Baltimore city’s Inner Harbor.  

Columbus, Ohio, named after Columbus himself, got rid of the statue in front of City Hall. 

The controversy of Columbus Day includes the Italian Americans as well. 

Columbus Day was originally a holiday for Italian-Americans, since Christopher Columbus was from Genoa, Italy. 

When Italian immigrants came to the US they were met with discrimination, hate and marginalization, making Italian-Americans feel pride in Colombus Day. 

It made them feel proud of having an Italian commemorated.

However there are Italian-Americans who believe in Indigenous People Day because they believe that Italians have finally gotten the recognition and status that indegenous people haven’t. 

Those who are against Indegenous Peoples Day can’t deny that indegenous people have been pushed around by the government. 

Their lands were taken away, they were killed, and they were allocated to reservations. 

Today, they are overlooked and as a result economic fallouts affect them.

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day gives them the recognition that they deserve.