By: MICHELLE HASH
Staff Writer
Since 1792, October 11th has been held as Columbus Day, but as of 1989 it has also been recognised as Indigenous Peoples Day. The first day to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day was South Dakota, in honor of their vast Native American population in contrast to honoring a man who originally thought he was sailing to India, but stumbled across the United States and assumed he was the first to discover it.
Columbus Day is celebrated, not in the false discovery of the United States, but rather to honor the heinous crimes committed against Italian Americans in order to honor them. Columbus being Italian, they thought he would be the better representative of the Italian American population.
Indigenous Peoples Day has been continuing to gain recognition for celebrating Native Americans, along with their history and their culture. It’s no coincidence having the same anniversary as Columbus Day, but in order to be heard you have to step on some toes.