Americans checking their phones on Monday may get different answers about what holiday they are observing depending on whether they use Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.
Apple's U.S. Calendar displays both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day while Google Calendar lists Columbus Day.
The difference comes amid a longstanding national debate over Christopher Columbus' legacy and whether the second Monday in October should celebrate the Italian explorer, honor Indigenous peoples, or recognize both.
Google previously manually added a broader collection of cultural celebrations to users' calendars but changed its approach in mid-2024, deciding to primarily rely on public holidays and national observances supplied by Timeanddate.com.
“Some years ago, the Calendar team started manually adding a broader set of moments in a wide number of countries around the world — things like cultural celebrations, teachers days and many more,” the company said last year in a website post. “We got feedback that many other events and countries were missing, and it just wasn’t feasible to put hundreds of moments in everyone’s calendars — so in mid-2024 we made the decision to simplify and show only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com.”
The distinction matters in this case because Columbus Day is still the name of the federal holiday. Indigenous Peoples' Day is recognized in various forms across numerous states and Washington, D.C., but is not itself a federal holiday.
Newsweek reached out to Apple and Google for comment.
Why It Matters
The differences between two of America's most widely used calendar platforms offer a small but highly visible example of the country's much bigger disagreement over how October's federal holiday should be understood.
For supporters of Columbus Day, the holiday commemorates Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage and has particular significance within the Italian American community. Many also point to the discrimination faced by Italian immigrants as part of the holiday's history and cultural importance.
But for many Native Americans and other critics, Columbus represents European colonization and the violence, and the holiday does not convey the serious nature of the displacement and losses Indigenous communities experienced afterward. That has led a growing number of groups to instead use the occasion to recognize Native American history and culture.
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What To Know
Five states, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, recognize Columbus Day alongside Indigenous Peoples' Day. But in recent years, there's been tension over which holiday should be recognized first and foremost.
“The debate over today's holidays has become another political battleground, another way to divide people into camps. Specifically for Indigenous People's Day and Columbus Day, it seems like acknowledging the less pretty parts of US history has become controversial,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek.
“Indigenous People's Day isn't about erasing history, but instead it's about recognizing that history didn't begin when white folk arrived. It's also about being honest that Columbus' legacy includes colonization, violence, and suffering.”
What Google and Apple Calendars Show
On Google Calendar, Columbus Day appears.
While Apple does not appear to have published a readily available explanation for including both holidays, Google has publicly explained a broader policy change that helps explain how holidays and observances end up on its calendar.
The company said in February 2025 that several years earlier, its Calendar team had begun manually adding a wider range of cultural events in numerous countries, including cultural celebrations and teachers' days.
But the approach proved difficult to maintain.
"We got feedback that many other events and countries were missing, and it just wasn't feasible to put hundreds of moments in everyone's calendars," Google said.
Consequently, the company said it made a global change in mid-2024 to "simplify and show only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com."
“Apple's practice of recognizing both Columbus Day and Indigenous Day reflects its commitment to creating and sustaining a culture that centers dignity and respect,” Kecia Thomas, an industrial organizational psychologist, told Newsweek. “The decision is very much aligned with the vote by Apple shareholders last year to reject a proposal to dismantle the global organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.”
Can Google Calendar Users Add Indigenous Peoples' Day?
Google Calendar remains customizable.
According to Google's help page, users can choose to display public holidays and other observances or display public holidays only. They can also select individual holidays or add holidays from other countries and regions.
However, the Columbus Day question has actually generated controversy among Google Calendar users for years.
“Many of us were taught that Columbus ‘discovered’ America, while the violence, enslavement and exploitation he perpetrated against the Indigenous peoples were glossed over,” Nichole Pitts, the founder and CEO of Ethintegrity, who advises organizations on ethics, culture and inclusion, told Newsweek.
“Imagine someone coming to your home and taking it by force, then being celebrated for ‘discovering’ it while your family's story is pushed aside. Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day challenges that incomplete history. DEI is meant to expand our lens so that all cultures and experiences, especially those historically excluded.”
Based on the calendar difference, Pitts said Apple “makes room for both observances while Google leaves Indigenous recognition out.”
“Companies that truly live their values use them as a north star, especially under pressure, and hold themselves accountable,” Pitts said. “Those that retreat to a more myopic view risk excluding the experiences of their own employees and customers, intentionally or unintentionally. These decisions shape whether people trust an organization's commitment to what they say they value.”
Is It Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day?
At the federal level, the answer is still Columbus Day.
On October 7, President Donald Trump issued his 2026 Columbus Day proclamation, proclaiming October 12 as Columbus Day and calling on Americans to observe it.
The administration has strongly defended Columbus' legacy.
"Christopher Columbus changed the future of humanity forever, and in this administration, we know that Christopher Columbus is, to us, he's a hero,” Trump said at a White House event Friday.
The approach differs sharply from former President Joe Biden.
Biden became the first U.S. president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2021. He also issued a separate Columbus Day proclamation, meaning his recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day did not eliminate the federal Columbus Day observance.
The Debate Over Columbus Day
The dispute comes down largely to sharply different interpretations of what the October holiday represents.
Columbus Day commemorates Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic and eventual landing in the Caribbean in 1492. The holiday has also acquired important meaning for some Italian Americans.
André DiMino, president of the Italian American One Voice Coalition, told Spectrum News that the holiday also recalls past discrimination against Italian immigrants.
"In 1892, President [Benjamin] Harrison declared the first Columbus Day as an atonement or an apology for the terrible treatment that Italian American immigrants were feeling," he said. "So our ancestors and many generations have revered Columbus Day for that important message."
However, those against Columbus Day focus on a dramatically different legacy.
For many Native Americans, Columbus' arrival marked the beginning of a history of colonization, displacement and losses of Indigenous lands and cultures. Indigenous Peoples' Day, meanwhile, puts Native communities and history at the center of the observance.
“Trump and the broader anti-DEI movement have turned even this basic recognition into a loyalty test. Something as simple as acknowledging Indigenous peoples is treated as an attack on white identity,” Driscoll said.
“For companies, Apple and Google all the way to small businesses, the challenge is whether they'll recognize the diverse communities that make up their workforce and customers when doing so become politically inconvenient, or at least controversial (even though it shouldn't be). Employees notice when inclusion is celebrated during good times and abandoned when boisterous, ignorant people complain.”
What Happens Next
For now, Americans should expect the two names to continue appearing side by side in some places and separately in others.
Columbus Day remains the federal holiday, while states and local governments have adopted a variety of approaches toward Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jenni Fink and Gray R. Thomas