For decades, the second Monday in October was known primarily as Columbus Day, a celebration of discovery and exploration. But in recent years, some Americans have begun to ask a deeper question: Whose stories were never told?
That question sparked a movement that began in Berkeley, California, in 1992, becoming the first city in the United States to officially replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. What started as a local effort to honor Native communities soon spread nationwide. In 2021, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on a national level, calling it a time to “honor the sovereignty, resilience, and immense contributions that Native Americans have made to the world.”
¨In America, we have a very black and white way of thinking. Yet, our population is very diverse, so there’s no reason we cannot adopt a nuanced approach when engaging with indigenous communities,” world religions and U.S. history teacher Tyler Rhudy said.
This change signaled a broader shift in how history is commemorated. What was previously observed as a day to celebrate conquest is now recognized as a day of reflection on historical events and their impacts on different communities.
“National Indigenous Peoples Day is to celebrate the people who were here before us and are still here today,” Howell High School history teacher Brooke Christians said. She believes that this shift is essential for understanding the past and the present.
She explained that one of the biggest misconceptions students have about Native Americans is that they “still think they live like it’s 200 hundred years ago.” This stereotype overlooks modern Native communities that continue to contribute to society today.
Across the country, Indigenous cultural celebrations such as powwows, traditional dances, and community gatherings continue to show that Native Identity changes over time while maintaining elements of tradition. Events like the Denver March Powwow in Colorado bring tribes together from across North America to share music, regalia, and traditions that have been passed down through generations. These gatherings highlight that indigenous culture continues to evolve while maintaining aspects of its authentic practices.
“There are so many indigenous people out there. Having one Indigenous day actually covers a wide, vast range of different people groups, who are very different genetically and culturally,”Howell High School history and world religions teacher Tyler Rhudy said. The holiday is an important way to acknowledge the diversity of Indigenous nations.
He added that the day encourages a more complete understanding of history and stressed that its purpose is not to erase the past, but to clarify and explain it.
“It puts the focus on the people who lost their lives through disease, through conquest… Before 1990, you never heard a bad word about Columbus. But now we kind of have this, like, more nuanced idea,” Rhudy said.
In his World Religions class, he teaches Indigenous creation stories, such as the Apache story of a woman fleeing from a dragon to protect her children, a tale that mirrors the symbolic struggles found in other world religions. These lessons show that indigenous cultures are not relics of the past, but living traditions that continue to influence modern thought and faith.
“Even a lot of Native Americans don’t really know their culture well because of how much it was assimilated out,” Rhudy said.
Through education, celebration, and acknowledgement, Indigenous Peoples Day provides opportunities to explore different perspectives in history. It highlights that historical accounts include both recorded events and experiences that were less documented.
As Christians put it, the day honors “the people who were here before us and are still here today.” By replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, observances like Indigenous Peoples Day reflect an effort to consider multiple perspectives in American history. The day encourages the acknowledgment of both historical events and the ongoing presence of indigenous communities and their cultural traditions, which existed long before this land was called America.
