2023-10-05 22:54:46
Editor’s Note: The video in this story is from a previous report.
Monday, October 9, is the federal holiday of Columbus Day, which means banks are closed, the United States Post Office does not deliver mail, and more.
But what about schools?
While some school districts may be in session, others will not. Chicago Public Schools does not observe Columbus Day, it does recognize Indigenous People’s Day.
In 2019, the Chicago Board of Education voted to replace Columbus Day — the second Monday in October — with Indigenous People’s Day on the school calendar.
As such, CPS will not hold classes Monday. It’s one of seven holidays CPS observes, according to the 2023-2024 CPS calendar.
According to the City of Chicago, Columbus Day is an observed holiday, and legislation to change the name of the holiday to Indigenous People’s Day has stalled.
Illinois currently recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day as the last Monday in September after passing legislation designating the day in 2017. In 2020, an Illinois lawmaker renewed her push to change the Columbus Day state holiday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
State Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat from Chicago, said at the time the honoring of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in September was done “without the consultation of Indigenous groups in Illinois, who opposed the bill.”
President Joe Biden in 2021 issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden wrote in the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.”
What is the history of Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
According to Susan C. Faircloth, an enrolled member of the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina and professor of education at Colorado State University, it began in 1990 in South Dakota – currently the state with the third-largest population of Native Americans in the U.S.
South Dakota became the first state to officially recognize Native Americans’ Daycommonly referred to now as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in other parts of the country.
More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia now recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, including Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
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