Indigenous Peoples Day

Four centuries after white Europeans stepped off the Mayflower and onto America’s shores, some descendants of the colonists are wrestling with the complicated legacy of their ancestors amid a global racial reckoning. There is immense pride among those who can trace their families back to the passengers who boarded the ship in Plymouth, England, in 1620 to flee religious persecution…

As the mythology around Christopher Columbus has been corrected, many are pushing to replace Columbus Day with a celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A cultural strategist and diversity expert, Lauren Wesley Wilson, joined LX News to discuss the importance of recognizing the oppressed rather than celebrating their oppressors.

Maine is observing a new holiday. Monday marked the first Indigenous People’s Day in the state after Maine lawmakers replaced Columbus Day in the spring.

A statue of Christopher Columbus was found vandalized in Rhode Island Monday, the day many observe the holiday named for him. The statue in Elmwood was found with the word “genocide” painted on its base and a sign saying “Stop Celebrating Genocide” chained around it, WJAR reports. Photographs of the scene show bright, red paint splattered on the statue.

“Columbus enslaved, colonized, mutilated, and massacred thousands of Indigenous People in the Americas,” Council Member David Grosso said in a statement.

The mayor of Waterville said his city would observe Columbus Day in defiance of Maine law.

A conservative mayor in Maine says he plans to declare Oct. 14 to be Columbus Day, in defiance of state law. The Kennebec Journal reports Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro’s proclamation would defy a state law passed in April that renamed the holiday Indigenous People’s Day.

Vermont has joined a handful of states in renaming Columbus Day to honor Native Americans. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law on Friday recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Vermont is close to becoming one of the first states to legally rename Columbus Day. Republican Gov. Phil Scott says he is likely to sign a bill into law that would recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

A proposal to trade the Columbus Day holiday for a tribute to Native Americans has received initial approval in the Maine House. The House voted 88-51 Tuesday in support of the bill, which faces further votes. Democratic Rep. Benjamin Collings of Portland sponsored the bill renaming the state holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October to Indigenous Peoples Day.

The largest city named for Christopher Columbus has called off its observance of the divisive holiday that honors the explorer, making a savvy move to tie the switch to a politically safe demographic: veterans.

At Plimoth Plantation this Columbus Day, the living history museum instead focused its attention on recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day.

People at Plimoth Plantation are officially recognizing this holiday as Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day.

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Rhode Island was found defaced Monday in another incident involving vandalism of statues of the Italian explorer in New England on Columbus Day.

The Massachusetts tribe that was the first to encounter the Pilgrims is renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to replace its Columbus Day holiday in October with Indigenous People’s Day.