Columbus Day explained: Key facts about US federal holiday

The second Monday of October marks both Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day in the United States. While President Joe Biden issued a proclamation recognising Indigenous Peoples Day in 2022, Columbus Day remains a federal holiday. According to research from Pew Research in 2023, Columbus Day is still officially commemorated in 16 states across the country.

However, a growing number of states and cities are beginning to adopt Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Columbus Day, suggesting a potential shift in how this holiday is observed. Advocacy groups are increasingly pushing to redirect the focus of the day away from explorers long celebrated in history.

As Columbus Day approaches this year, here is what you need to know about this nearly century-old national holiday.

When is Columbus Day?

Both Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day fall on Monday, October 14, occurring annually on the second Monday of October.

Who was Christopher Columbus?

Christopher Columbus is often referred to as the man who "discovered" America, despite the fact that explorers such as Leif Eriksson had reached the continent long before him, and various Native American tribes had inhabited the land for centuries. Reynaldo Morales, an assistant professor at Northwestern University and a descendant of the Quechua peoples of Peru, teaches about American Indian and indigenous peoples' issues in the media, as well as environmental challenges faced by indigenous communities worldwide.

In a statement to USA TODAY in 2023, Morales remarked, "Columbus and his men brought a scope of violence reaching the level of genocide that had no precedent in the large American continent before Europeans."

Philadelphia Magazine compiled several instances of the atrocities committed by Columbus, including:

- The cutting off of the hands of approximately 10,000 natives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic for failing to provide gold every three months.
- Punishments for minor offenses included cutting off noses and ears.
- Columbus and his crew reportedly hunted natives for sport, releasing them to hunting dogs to be ripped apart.

Morales emphasised, "We have no reason whatsoever — only because we ignore these facts — to celebrate the legacy or the figure of such criminal."

Do people still celebrate Columbus Day?

While Columbus Day remains a federal holiday, opinions

on its significance are divided. Some argue that the day celebrates Italian heritage, while others contend that it glorifies the exploitation and genocide of native peoples. Approximately 29 states and Washington, D.C., do not officially celebrate Columbus Day, with around 216 cities having renamed or replaced the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day, as noted by renamecolumbusday.org.

The origins of Columbus Day date back to 1792, when New York’s Columbian Order, known as Tammany Hall, celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing. A century later, in 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas.