News Flash

Please take a moment to participate in the City's 3 question survey on whether or not you would like to see City Council replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WL2XXNM

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday that celebrates the Indigenous peoples of America. It is celebrated across the United States, and is an official city and state holiday in various localities around the country. It began as a counter-celebration to the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors European explorer Christopher Columbus. Indigenous Peoples Day is intended to celebrate Native Americans and commemorate their shared history and culture.

Indigenous peoples, also known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples or native peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. Groups are usually described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region.

The holiday was first instituted in Berkeley, California in 1992, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. There are currently 95 cities which celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day in the United States, 10 of which are in the State of California.