Indigenous Peoples' Day Indigenous Peoples' Day Indigenous Peoples' Day (Native's Day) is a holiday that celebrates and honors the Indigenous peoples of America and commemorates their shared history and culture. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an official city and state holiday in various localities. It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors European explorer Christopher Columbus. Some people now reject celebrating him, saying that he represents "the violent history of the colonization in the Western Hemisphere". Indigenous Peoples' Day was begun
Columbus Day In the United States Virgin Islands, the day is celebrated as both Columbus Day and "Puerto Rico Friendship Day." Virginia also celebrates two legal holidays on the day, Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, which honors the final victory at the Siege of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War. The celebration of Columbus Day in the United States began to decline at the end of the 20th century, although many Italian-Americans, and others, continue to champion it. The states of Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, Vermont, and South Dakota, do not recognize it and have each replaced it with celebrations of Indigenous People's