Americans mark the second Monday of October under different names depending on where they live. Across the country, states remain divided over whether to recognize Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day or both.
This year, the day fell on Monday, October 12.
While Columbus Day is still one of the federal government's official holidays, states are increasingly adopting Indigenous Peoples' Day to honor Native Americans.
According to Pew Research Center, 30 states and three U.S. territories recognize Columbus Day in some form, but only 20 states and two territories treat it as a paid holiday for state employees.
And while 17 states and Washington, D.C., recognize Indigenous people on the second Monday in October, only five states do so alongside Columbus Day as a paid holiday: Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Why It Matters
The name attached to the holiday in October has become part of a broader debate over how the United States honors its history.
Columbus Day is embedded in federal law, but a growing number of states have chosen to recognize Indigenous peoples either alongside Columbus or instead of him.
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Is Indigenous Peoples' Day a Federal Holiday?
Indigenous Peoples' Day is not currently a federal legal holiday. Columbus Day is.
Federal law designates the second Monday of October as Columbus Day.
However, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a presidential proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2021. But that recognition did not change the statutory name of the federal holiday or replace Columbus Day.
“On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations,” Biden said at the time.
President Donald Trump meanwhile issued a Columbus Day proclamation earlier this week, praising Columbus and declaring that his administration would defend his legacy.
“Today, we honor his life of valor, adventure, and ingenuity. We cherish his memory and pledge to safeguard his story,” Trump said. “Above all, we remember with gratitude that the triumph of freedom and the glory of our Republic are the fruits of his faith and unrelenting devotion.”
Which States Observe Indigenous Peoples' Day?
Currently, 17 states plus Washington, D.C., recognize Indigenous people on the second Monday in October as a holiday.
But there are three different ways they are designated.
Indigenous observance alongside Columbus Day
Five states have recognized an Indigenous holiday alongside Columbus Day as a paid holiday:
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Alabama also recognizes Columbus Day as well as American Indian Heritage Day.
Indigenous holiday instead of Columbus Day
Four states have a paid Indigenous Peoples' holiday without simultaneously recognizing Columbus Day:
- Maine
- New Mexico
- South Dakota, where it is called Native American Day
- Vermont
Maine, New Mexico and Vermont replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2019, while South Dakota began observing Native American Day in 1990.
States with an unpaid Indigenous observance
Seven additional states officially recognize Indigenous people on that day without making the observance a paid state holiday:
- Alaska
- California
- Hawaii
- Minnesota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Wisconsin
Which States Continue to Observe Columbus Day?
Columbus Day has disappeared from some state calendars, but it is still recognized in some states.
Pew found that 30 states recognize Columbus Day in some form, along with three U.S. territories. Of those, 20 states make it a paid holiday for state workers.
There is also overlap. Alabama, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island recognize an Indigenous observance while maintaining Columbus Day.
Other states continue Columbus Day without making Indigenous Peoples' Day an equivalent paid holiday.
The state differences reflect a long-running disagreement over Columbus' legacy.
While some say the day celebrates Columbus' significance to Italian American heritage, those who favor Indigenous Peoples' Day argue that the traditional holiday overlooks Native peoples who lived in the Americas before Europeans arrived and the devastating consequences that followed European colonization.
“The most American thing about America is American Indians,” Paul Chaat Smith, a Comanche author and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, said previously.
When Was Indigenous Peoples' Day Established?
The path to celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day dates back decades rather than to a single federal act.
In 1977, there was an international conference on discrimination against Indigenous populations in Geneva, where replacing Columbus Day with an observance honoring Indigenous peoples was discussed.
And in 1990, South Dakota became an early statewide adopter by establishing Native American Day in place of Columbus Day.
Two years later, Berkeley, California, became the first U.S. city to officially observe Indigenous Peoples' Day, doing so in 1992, which was the 500th anniversary of Columbus' 1492 voyage.
This movement reached the White House in 2021, when Biden became the first president to formally commemorate Indigenous Peoples' Day through a presidential proclamation.
That did not make Indigenous Peoples' Day a permanent federal holiday or remove Columbus Day from federal law.
Are Banks, Schools Open on Indigenous Peoples' Day?
Because October 12 is the federal Columbus Day holiday, federal offices will generally be closed. The U.S. Postal Service has also confirmed it will observe Columbus Day on Monday.
The Federal Reserve Banks will be closed, which means many traditional bank branches will also close, although individual institutions can set their own branch schedules.
Schools are less straightforward.
There is no nationwide rule requiring public schools to close for Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day, and schedules depend on state and local school calendars.
Most private businesses will also determine their own schedules.
What Happens Next
Federal offices will observe Columbus Day, but the divide over the holiday is likely to continue.
States can continue to change their own holiday calendars to honor Indigenous peoples, but at the federal level, Columbus Day is the official holiday established in law.
Trump said America is “forever indebted” to Columbus and that his administration would “never allow his legacy to be erased by radical extremists.”
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: Jason Lemon and Geoffrey Rowland.