On Monday, Oct. 9 many cities across the United States will opt to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day over Columbus Day.
Los Angeles is the latest city to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day.
Last year, Phoenixand Flagstaff city councils voted not to replace Columbus Day but to commemorate their Native American neighbors. They join dozens of other cities in recent years.
Even though Italian Americans hold up Columbus as a source of pride, many cities and states are realizing the trouble with officially recognizing Christopher Columbus. Many see the explorer as a symbol of genocide of indigenous peoples.
One Los Angeles council member told the Los Angeles Times, “This gesture of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day is a very small step in apologizing and making amends.”
