Celebrate Indigineous People's Day Today
Columbus Day is now officially: Indigenous People's Day What is Indigenous Peoples' Day? Indigenous Peoples' Day advocates say the recognition helps correct a "whitewashed" American history that has glorified Europeans like Italian explorer Christopher Columbus who have committed violence against Indigenous communities. Native Americans have long criticized the inaccuracies and harmful narratives of Columbus' legacy that credited him with his "discovery" of the Americas when Indigenous people were there first. "It is difficult to grapple with the complete accomplishments of individuals and also the costs of what those accomplishments came at," said Mandy Van Heuvelen, the cultural interpreter coordinator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. There are no set rules on how one should appreciate the day, said Van Heuvelen, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux