Indigenous People’s Day honors the past, present, and future of all Native people throughout the United States. The holiday recognizes the impact if colonialism on Native communities and brings to light the history of Native people. This holiday also celebrates the cultures, contributions, and resilience of modern Native communities. Indigenous People’s Day falls on the second Monday of October and this year is on October 10th.

This holiday aims to replace Columbus Day and turn the focus to the Native people that were always living within the United Sates. A lot of people have been taught about Christopher Columbus and his journey to the Americas. But this education mostly erases the violence of his actions and attitudes toward Native people. Columbus did not discover the Americas as he never stop foot on North American land and millions of indigenous people already lived there. Columbus brutalized, killed, and enslaved the Indigenous people of the Caribbean and led the way for future colonizers in America.

Celebrating Indigenous People’s Day over Columbus Day is very important today. In the US there are currently over 600 Native Nations, and 6.8 million Americans identify as Native American. But the representation for Native people is extremely lacking and Native communities still face discrimination as a result. Indigenous People’s Day pushes back on this visibility and allows Native people to be seen and celebrated. Since 1977 people have begun to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day over Columbus Day. As of 2020, 14 US states and 130 cities recognize Indigenous People’s Day. Right now, New Hampshire does not recognize Indigenous People’s Day as a holiday. And Columbus Day is observed by the state but is not a state holiday.

New Hampshire is home to the people of the Pennacook tribe and the Abenaki tribe. These people have been living in the land of New Hampshire for over 3,000 years. They hunted for meat, planted crops, and raised families in a community environment. These tribes lived mostly peaceful lives scattered throughout New Hampshire. When the colonizers came from England, there were mostly peaceful communications. They traded with each other, taught each other about the landscape, and often held meetings in similar areas. But by the early 1700’s more European settlers began to push these people out. Most the of thrive relocated to Canada. But we have a state have a purpose to remember these people and teach future generations about them. This can be done by allowing Indigenous People’s Day to replace Columbus Day and focusing ion the Native people that were in America and how we can help Native communities today.