It’s Columbus Day observed annually on the second Monday in October. It remembered The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. However, this US federal holiday, which falls on October 14 this year, has often been a topic of discussion debate. Many believe that the mistreatment of Native Americans by European settlers is not a reason for this Celebration.

Also historians argue that Columbus did not “discover” the continent. The indigenous Long before his arrival, people lived on the American continent. Nor was he the first European to set foot in North America. A Nordic Explorer named Leif Erikson founded the first European settlement in Greenland around 980 AD. That was almost 500 years before Columbus and his men arrived.

Some US states such as Oregon, Iowa and Nebraska have never celebrated Columbus Day. In 1971, Hawaii renamed it “Explorer Day.” Honor the Polynesian state founders. South Dakota changed it to Native American Day in 1990. As public consciousness des controversy grew, many US schools and universities also hired observe the holiday.

In 1977 a delegation the natives at a conference focused on race Discrimination suggested renaming the holiday “Indigenous Peoples Day.” They believed the change would help honor those who suffered under American colonization. The resolution passed with one overwhelming majority.

The city of Berkeley, California was the first to make the change in 1992. Santa Cruz, California, followed soon after in 1994. Since then, over 100 cities and many states, including Alaska, Oregon and California, have made the change assumed Indigenous Peoples Day. In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential executive order proclamation Indigenous Peoples Day. It encouraged Americans celebrate the holiday on the second Monday in October along with Columbus Day.

But not everyone agrees that it’s a name change necessary. For many Italian Americans, Columbus Day is a Integral Part of Italian Heritage Month, celebrated annually in October. She claim that the holiday celebrates Italian immigration Experience instead of only in honor of Columbus. In their opinion, the name should remain or be changed to something more suitablelike Italian Heritage Day.

Resources: Wikipedia.org, History.com, CNN.com