I think that’s part of a larger push nationwide to look critically at our past. More schools, cities, and institutions, such as the Harvard Graduate School of Education, have adopted Indigenous Peoples Day instead. The trend toward questioning Columbus Day has expanded.I’ve noticed several developments in my work teaching high school and teaching at Harvard: The context around Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day: We asked Eric Shed, a veteran history teacher and a lecturer and teacher educator at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, to share perspectives on the changing currents around Indigenous Peoples Day and the challenges of learning and teaching history, as distinct from celebrating it. Refocusing the Columbus Day holiday to center the people whose lives and cultures were irreparably damaged by colonial conquest is part of an ongoing reckoning, one in which the country is grappling with the complicated fullness of its history. In recent years, the conversation has become much more nuanced, as schools and communities have begun to mark Indigenous Peoples Day and to look more deeply at the complexities and problems of “celebrating” Christopher Columbus - including the violent abuse of Indigenous peoples, the launch of the transatlantic slave trade, and the introduction of lethal diseases to an unprepared continent. If the commemorations dealt at all with the impact of European exploration on the Indigenous civilizations already flourishing in these “discovered” lands, it was often fleeting. Once upon a time, teachers celebrated Columbus Day by leading children in choruses of song about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. 'History is always written by the conqueror,' said Sanchez.Note: This story is an updated version of a piece, co-written with Leah Shafer, that was originally published in 2017. But the fact that people are paying attention at this very moment - that's important, because we will have a greater opportunity to educate people and help them understand why we are where we are right now,' she said. 'I don't know that we'll ever get to a place where people have their land back or have the recognition of who they are, to the degree that we that we need to or should. Tawna Sanchez, one of those lawmakers, says the movement to recognize the day is an ideal time to capitalize on the momentum of political recognition. Monday marks Oregon's first statewide recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day, in place of Columbus Day, after its legislature passed a bill brought by its Indigenous lawmakers. 'Should we recognize a man whose labors killed children, killed women and decimated the Native American population here? I don't think that is something that we want to be honored.' But I think it's also important to also recognize the history of Columbus Day itself,' said Baca.

'Italian American culture is important, and I think there are other times and places to recognize that. The day was first founded as a way to appreciate the mistreatment of Italian Americans, and Congress eventually made it a federal holiday in 1934. As long as Native people remain invisible, it's much more easier for people to look past those real issues and those real concerns within those communities.' What about Columbus Day?Ĭolumbus Day remains a federal holiday that gives federal government employees the day off from work. 'Until Native people are or are fully seen in our society and in everyday life, we can't accomplish those bigger changes. 'What these changes accomplish, piece by piece, is visibility for Native people in the United States,' she said. What might seem to some like a simple name change can lead to real social progress for Indigenous Americans, said Van Heuvelen. More than a dozen states and well over 100 cities celebrate the day, with many of them having altogether dropped the holiday honoring Columbus to replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Many state and local governments have gone a step further. 'This is a profound thing the president has done, and it's going to mean a lot to so many people.' 'I still don't think I've fully absorbed what that has meant,' he said. The move shifts focus from Columbus Day, the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus, which shares the same date as Indigenous Peoples' Day this year.ĭylan Baca, a 19-year-old Arizonan who was instrumental in helping broker the proclamation, is overwhelmed by the gravity of Biden's action. 11 as a day to honor Native Americans, their resilience and their contributions to American society throughout history, even as they faced assimilation, discrimination and genocide spanning generations. President Biden issued a proclamation on Friday to observe this Oct. president has officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day. 10, 2020, as part of a demonstration to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Protesters marched in an Indigenous Peoples Day rally in Boston on Oct.

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