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 holiday will have a slightly different, more Native flavor in the city of Seattle. Thanks to a unanimous vote this summer by the city council, the federal holiday will now be known by a different name: 

The name change comes after activists pushed for a day to honor indigenous people instead of Christopher Columbus, the most recognizable figure linked to European contact with the Americas.


"This is about taking a stand against racism and discrimination," Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant told the 

. "Learning about the history of Columbus and transforming this day into a celebration of indigenous people and a celebration of social justice ... allows us to make a connection between this painful history and the ongoing marginalization, discrimination and poverty that indigenous communities face to this day."
On Monday, the streets of Seattle will likely be filled with drums, singing and the faces of citizens from the city's surrounding Native Nations: the Lummi, Nooksack, Tulalip, Sauk-Suiattle, Swinomish, Puyallup, Colville and 22 other 

, as well as citizens from other Indian Nations that call Seattle home.
Seattle isn't the first place to give the holiday a makeover. Earlier this year, the Minneapolis City Council 

Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples' Day. South Dakota celebrates 

 in "remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of our state." Hawaii observes 

, in which Polynesian explorers are honored.
Of course, not everybody is happy about these changes. The 

 that some Italian-Americans in Seattle have been upset by the change because it comes "at the expense of what essentially is Italian Heritage Day." But for those who have a negative view of Columbus' impact, the new name honors a legacy of struggle and resistance.
In the past, anti-Columbus Day protesters have clashed with the holiday's supporters, most notably in Denver, where members of the American Indian Movement have taken to the streets almost yearly since the late 1980s. Those protests have 

 down in recent years, although those annual demonstrations frequently ended in 


But anti-Columbus sentiment is hardly limited to the U.S. In Chile, Mapuche activists launched anti-Columbus demonstrations that 

 last year. In 2002, indigenous people in Guatemala protested the day by 

 across the country. Today, many countries in Latin America --including Mexico, El Salvador and Argentina — recognize 

, while in Venezuela, the holiday has been renamed the 

.
In the U.S., the bigger issue now is whether the holiday can survive as a growing number of cities and states decide to do away with it. According to the 

, it's already "one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays." Apart from federal employees, workers in only 23 states are given a paid day off to observe the holiday.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tristan Ahtone

Author

Seattle isn't the first place to give the holiday a makeover. Earlier this year, the Minneapolis City Council also renamed Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Seattle swaps Columbus Day for 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'

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