Indigenous Peoples' Day

[ in-dij-uh-nuhs pee-puhlz dey ]

noun

1. the second Monday in October, a holiday in the United States that honors the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and celebrates their history and culture: In many states and other localities, the holiday is variously observed in place of Columbus Day or along with it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indigenous Peoples' Day¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, here are a few essential resources to deepen your understanding of the movement.

From Salon

On a Monday in October 2023, Jade Hurley was looking for a way to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day, an alternative to Columbus Day celebrated by those who don’t consider the colonization of the Americas an occasion worth celebrating.

From Slate

But when it came to the Indigenous Peoples Day post or the proposed Instagram slides on the war in Gaza, “no apology was given by the comms team … for sending me a draft I found hurtful and offensive,” Korman wrote in Tablet.

From Slate

Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue was lit up green to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day on Friday.

From BBC

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a thing now.

From Los Angeles Times

More About Indigenous Peoples' Day

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a US holiday that honors and celebrates the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and their history and culture.

There is a similar but separate holiday in Canada known as National Indigenous Peoples Day.  

Observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the US often involves celebratory cultural and educational events. The day is also often used as a time to acknowledge the history of colonialism and its devastating impact on Indigenous Peoples in the Americas (and around the world), notably the acts of genocide and systemic oppression by white European colonizers and subsequently the U.S. and Canadian governments—and the persisting mistreatment and inequalities rooted in this history.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed on the same date that Columbus Day has traditionally been observed on. The establishment of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and its placing on this day grew out of the objection to the celebration of Christopher Columbus due to his role in colonization and its history of oppression. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is often viewed as a replacement of Columbus Day, and in many places its observance has officially replaced that of Columbus Day.

When is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed each year on the second Monday in October.

In 2023, Indigenous Peoples’ Day will take place on October 9. In 2024, it will take place on October 14.

In Canada, the holiday known as National Indigenous Peoples Day is observed each year on June 21.

More information and context on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day grew out of calls for such a holiday by Indigenous communities and advocates, including a proposal by Indigenous leaders at a United Nations conference in 1977. In the 1980s, many Native Americans began to protest the celebration of Columbus Day, which officially became a US federal holiday in 1968 (it was first made a nationwide observance by presidential proclamation in 1937). Among the first times that Columbus Day was replaced with a day honoring Native Peoples occurred in South Dakota in 1990. In 1992, Native Americans in California organized a day known as Indigenous Peoples Day in opposition to plans to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s landing in the Americas. Indigenous Peoples’ Day has since been adopted as an official observance in many states (either as a replacement of or alongside Columbus Day).

The word Indigenous is now often capitalized as a marker of identity, as is the word Peoples in Indigenous Peoples.  

What are some terms that often get used in discussing Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

• Indigenous
• Native American
• First Nations
• colonialism
• colonizer
• Columbus Day
• Christopher Columbus
• genocide

How is Indigenous Peoples’ Day discussed in real life?

Many people observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day in replacement of Columbus Day in acknowledgement of the history of oppression against Indigenous Peoples. A similar holiday in Canada is called National Indigenous Peoples Day.

My main wish, for non-Indigenous people to understand, is that days like this, or Indigenous Peoples Day, aren’t just days to remember what happened.

Very bad things are still happening to Indigenous people. And you can actually take action to help us.

— ashley fairbanks (@ziibiing) September 30, 2021

Hartford will celebrate its first Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day next month, city council decided Monday in a vote. https://t.co/x2uNhXcU8H

— Hartford Courant (@hartfordcourant) September 28, 2021

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day 🙌🏽🏞🏔
Proud to be Skwxwu7mesh and honour my people and ancestors with the continuation of our culture ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PumSuUqoMl

— Taylor McCarthy (@tc_mcc) June 22, 2020

 

Try using Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

True or False?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is always observed on the second Monday in October.