These Cities (and States) Have Abandoned Columbus Day

Columbus day and world map with compass

Columbus may have sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but Berkeley, California, gave his big day the boot in 1992. It claimed that Columbus didn’t actually “discover” America; he simply started its colonization. So instead, the California city decided to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a tribute to the Native Americans who were here all along. And Berkeley is far from alone.

While only four states have declared the switch from Columbus Day to Native Americans Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day—Alaska, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Vermont—plenty of cities across the country have taken a stand. Some of the major ones include Phoenix, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Albuquerque. Joining Berkeley, they’ve found new ways to honor the historic day in October.

In Boulder, Colorado, attend the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration, where local tribes perform beautiful dances and a parade winds through the city streets. Or turn the festivities into a weekend-long celebration as they do in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a line-up of singing, drumming, and flute playing. In Nashville, city residents can listen to tribal leaders speak on cultural history while they enjoy traditional Native American foods.

No matter how these cities and states are celebrating, the sentiment is the same: “This is about taking a stand against racism and discrimination,” one Seattle City Council member explained. “Learning about the history of Columbus and transforming this day into a celebration of indigenous people and a celebration of social justice … allows us to make a connection between this painful history and the ongoing marginalization, discrimination, and poverty that indigenous communities face.”

You can find the full list of places that have renamed Columbus Day on TIME.com. Next, read up on more historical figures you’ve been picturing all wrong.

The post These Cities (and States) Have Abandoned Columbus Day appeared first on Reader's Digest.

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