This page is a timeline for when various municipalities, universities, and states in the United States have officially recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Timeline
1977
The International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, sponsored by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, began to discuss replacing Columbus Day in the United States with a celebration to be known as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
1989
South Dakota (celebrated as Native American Day)
1990
At the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito, Ecuador, representatives of Indian groups throughout the Americas agreed that they would mark 1992, the 500th anniversary of the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus, as a year to promote "continental unity" and "liberation."
1992
The city council of Berkeley, California, declared October 12 as a "Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People", and 1992 the "Year of Indigenous People". The city implemented related programs in schools, libraries, and museums. The city symbolically renamed Columbus Day as "Indigenous Peoples' Day" beginning in 1992 to protest the historical conquest of North America by Europeans, and to call attention to the losses suffered by the Native American peoples and their cultures through diseases, warfare, massacres, and forced assimilation.
1994 Santa Cruz, California
2014
April
The city council of Minneapolis, Minnesota, officially voted to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day along with Columbus Day.
Red Wing, Minnesota, replaced Columbus Day with Chief Red Wing Day to honor the city's namesake, Hupaha-duta, the Dakota leader known in English as "Red Wing".
October
The city council of Seattle, Washington, officially renamed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Bellingham, Washington passed an ordinance recognizing the second Monday of October as Coast Salish Day in honor of the indigenous peoples of the Salish Sea bioregion.
Minnesota State University, Mankato began celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day, following an official vote to establish this by the Minnesota State Student Association.
December
The city council of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, passed a resolution recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day.
2015
Alpena, Michigan Bellingham, Washington Bexar County, Texas Corvallis, Oregon Fargo, North Dakota Grand Marais and Cook County, Minnesota Hillsborough, North Carolina
February
The City Commission of Traverse City, Michigan, passed a resolution recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
May
The Town of Newstead and the Village of Akron, New York, and the Akron Central School District, voted to celebrate Indigenous People's Day on Columbus Day.
August
The City Council of St. Paul, Minnesota, unanimously passed a resolution recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of Columbus Day.
The City of Olympia, Washington, officially declared the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day to honor the area’s Native American heritage.
September
The Town and Village of Lewiston, New York, declared the second Monday of October, Indigenous Peoples' Day, on September 28 and October 5, 2015, respectively.
The Mayor of the City of Anadarko, Oklahoma signed the Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation, while surrounded by members and tribal leaders from the Apache, Choctaw, Delaware, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
October
The cities of Anchorage, Alaska; Portland, Oregon; Carrboro, North Carolina; and Albuquerque, New Mexico adopted similar resolutions.
Governor Bill Walker of Alaska issued an executive proclamation renaming Columbus Day "Indigenous Peoples' Day."
The city of San Fernando, California, passed a resolution recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day. The City of San Fernando may be the first city in Los Angeles County to recognize this day.
December
On December 15, the City Council of Belfast, Maine approved the renaming of Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan Beaverton, Oregon Bozeman, Montana Ferndale, Michigan Lawrence, Kansas Madison, Wisconsin Minnesota Syracuse University University of Central Oklahoma Ypsilanti, Michigan Winona State University, Minnesota
January
The City Council of Durango, Colorado unanimously voted to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday of October.
The Mayor and City Council of Asheville, North Carolina voted unanimously to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The student body of the University of Utah voted unanimously to support the replacement of the annual "Columbus Day" holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day".
February
The faculty of Brown University voted to designate the second Monday of October as "Indigenous Peoples' Day".
March
The City Council of Eugene, Oregon voted unanimously to approve a resolution declaring the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
June
The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts voted unanimously (9–0) to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. The Massachusetts communities of Amherst and Northampton, by the time early October 2016 arrived, had joined Cambridge in similarly re-naming the early October date.
August
The City of Boulder, Colorado voted unanimously (9–0) to establish Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The City of Spokane, Washington approved the establishment of Indigenous Peoples Day by a 6 to 1 vote.
September
The City Council of Bainbridge Island, Washington unanimously approved a resolution declaring the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The East Lansing, Michigan city council voted unanimously without discussion to declare the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The Council of Santa Fe, New Mexico unanimously (8–0) approved a resolution declaring the second Monday in October, or what traditionally is Columbus Day, as Indigenous Peoples' Day in Santa Fe.
October
The Denver City Council unanimously (12–0) approved a resolution permanently recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday of October.
The City Council of Yakima, Washington voted 5 to 2 to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The City Council of Phoenix, Arizona voted unanimously (9–0) to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day annually on Columbus Day. It was the largest US city to take such action.Amanda Blackhorse, "Take That, Columbus: Indigenous Peoples’ Day Unanimously Passes in Phoenix", Indian Country Today Network, 7 October 2016; accessed October 10, 2016.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a proclamation declaring that October 10, 2016 will be observed as Indigenous People's Day in the state. The statement also acknowledges that the state was founded and built upon lands first inhabited by indigenous peoples.
Mayor Gregory F. Vaughn of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia signed a proclamation introduced to the Town Council by Recorder Kevin Carden declaring that day, and the second Monday of each subsequent October, to be called Indigenous Peoples' Day in the town.
2017
Bar Harbor, Maine Brookline, Massachusetts Charlottesville, Virginia Cornell University Davenport, Iowa Durham, New Hampshire Eau Claire, Wisconsin Falls Church, Virginia Graceland University Ithaca, New York Kalamazoo, Michigan Kansas City, Missouri Long Beach, California Los Angeles County, California Moscow, Idaho Nashville, Tennessee Newark, New Jersey Norman, Oklahoma Oak Park, Illinois Stanford, Kentucky Tahlequah, Oklahoma Trinidad and Tobago Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Alaska Fairbanks Watsonville, California
March At a town meeting in Starks, Maine, an Indigenous Peoples' Day proposal was approved, 32–2, replacing Columbus Day observances.
August On August 21, Oberlin, Ohio officially approved the change to Indigenous Peoples' Day.
One week later, on August 28, Bangor, Maine made it official as well.
As of August 30, the Los Angeles City Council authorized the celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day.
September On September 11, Orono became the third city in Maine to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day. On September 18, both Brunswick and Portland in Maine adopted the change to Indigenous Peoples Day.
October
On October 3, Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton signed a proclamation adopting the change to Indigenous People's Day followed by the Johnson County, Iowa, Board of Supervisors on October 5. On October 5, the Austin City Council adopted the change to Indigenous Peoples' Day. On October 9, the Eau Claire School Board (the eighth largest school district in Wisconsin) adopted the change to Indigenous Peoples Day. On October 9, the Cities of Salt Lake City, Utah, Burbank, California, and San Luis Obispo, California officially celebrated and adopted Indigenous Peoples' Day. The city of Aspen, Colorado followed Denver and Boulder in conferring recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day.
2018
Akron, Ohio (as North American First People's Day on the first Monday of October) Berea, Kentucky Boise, Idaho Brodhead, Kentucky Burnside, Kentucky Cincinnati, Ohio Corbin, Kentucky Corpus Christi, Texas Crab Orchard, Kentucky Drake University Frankfort, Kentucky Gouldsboro, Maine Harrodsburg, Kentucky Helena, Montana Hopkinsville, Kentucky Iowa Junction City, Kentucky Lancaster, Kentucky Lawton, Oklahoma Liberty, Kentucky Livingston, Kentucky London, Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky Mankato, Minnesota Mt. Vernon, Kentucky North Carolina Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Okmulgee, Oklahoma Perryville, Kentucky Pittsfield, Massachusetts Prestonsburg, Kentucky Pullman, Washington Richmond, Kentucky Rochester, New York Russell Springs, Kentucky San Francisco, California Science Hill, Kentucky Somerset, Kentucky South Fulton, Georgia Southfield, Michigan Springfield, Kentucky Tacoma, Washington Taylorsville, Kentucky University of New Mexico
January
A House Bill was introduced in the legislature of the State of New Hampshire that would rename Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day statewide.
February School board officials in Southampton, New York voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day on all school calendars.
July Tompkins County, New York officials voted to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day, in addition to Columbus Day.
September The mayor of the city of Somerville, Massachusetts announced that the city will observe Indigenous Peoples' Day rather than Columbus Day.
October The City Council of Flagstaff, Arizona unanimously passed a resolution which renamed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day in addition to committing city resources to combating racism against Native Americans.
2019
Ada, Oklahoma Bloomington, Indiana California Dallas, Texas Davis, California District of Columbia Grand Forks, North Dakota Great Barrington, Massachusetts Hopkinton, New Hampshire Keene, New Hampshire Keene State College Lasell University Louisiana Maine Marathon County, Wisconsin Marblehead, Massachusetts Mashpee, Massachusetts Michigan Moorhead, Minnesota New Mexico Princeton, New Jersey Provincetown, Massachusetts Reno, Nevada South Lake Tahoe, California Takoma Park, Maryland Wisconsin Wichita, Kansas
September
The Ventura County, California Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to observe Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day.
2020
Baltimore, Maryland Colorado Springs, Colorado Dover, New Hampshire Exeter, New Hampshire The Columbus City Council of Columbus, Ohio set October 12 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, after removing Columbus Day as a holiday in 2018. Gig Harbor, Washington Harris County, Texas Houston, Texas Mansfield, Connecticut Nashua, New Hampshire Norristown, Pennsylvania Salem, Massachusetts Salisbury, Maryland Virginia
2021
Arlington, Massachusetts Bedford, Massachusetts Belmont, Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Easthampton, Massachusetts