close
close

Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day 2024: What's open, what's closed

Posted on by Kennedy
Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day 2024: What's open, what's closed

play

Since Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day both fall on Monday, will any businesses or services be open on this holiday?

According to the Library of Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared it a national holiday in 1934. The second Monday in October is now a federal holiday and has been celebrated as Columbus Day since 1971.

However, the day is commonly referred to as Indigenous Peoples' Day as people push for the holiday's name to be renamed due to the holiday's namesake, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, and the bloodshed he left behind in North America.

Indigenous Peoples Day has been recognized by proclamation for three years. It's not a federal holiday, but President Joe Biden proclaimed the day to “honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples.”

According to the Pew Research Center, Columbus Day, a federal holiday, is “one of the least celebrated U.S. holidays.”

Is Columbus Day still a federal holiday?

Despite the contradictions and controversies, the federal holiday is still recognized. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Columbus Day is one of eleven federal holidays.

When is Columbus Day 2024?

Columbus Day is Monday, October 14th.

When is Indigenous Peoples Day in 2024?

On the same day, Monday, October 14, Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated.

Is the post office open on Columbus Day?

No, the Post Office's retail branches will be closed for Columbus Day and there will be no home or office mail delivery.

Anyone who needs shipping materials can still order them on the post office website.

Are banks open on Columbus Day?

Banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America also remain closed for Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day.

Chase branches will be open, but online transactions will be treated the same as on a regularly observed federal holiday.

What about other federal offices?

All non-essential federal offices will also remain closed on this holiday.

For example, agencies like Federal Student Aid will be closed on Monday. It also will not send funds to universities that day, but its website will continue to accept data and remain operational, it said in a news release.

What is Columbus Day and why is it celebrated?

Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of explorer Christopher Columbus on the American continent on October 12, 1492.

Columbus, an Italian explorer who led a Spanish exploration, landed in the Americas in 1492. His arrival initiated the European colonization of the Americas and the trade of goods, animals and people in what was known as the Columbian Exchange.

Columbus Day was celebrated by some Italian Americans and was a controversial federal holiday for some Native Americans.

Why don't people celebrate Christopher Columbus Day?

The elementary school lesson about the explorer Christopher Columbus sailing on the “Blue Ocean” is incomplete.

According to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, indigenous communities lived in the Western Hemisphere for tens of thousands of years before Columbus arrived, and contact with European colonies resulted in devastating losses of life, traditions and land for the American Indians.

Although Indigenous Peoples Day is not recognized across the United States, advocates say it is important to denounce Columbus' violent history and recognize Native American communities today.

The controversial Italian explorer became notorious for his treatment of the indigenous population.

According to the History Channel, the explorer is said to have done the following to indigenous peoples:

  • Used violence and slavery
  • Introduce and spread new diseases
  • Try to convert them to Christianity

Critics of the current federal holiday point out that Columbus also committed several crimes against humanity upon his arrival in the Western Hemisphere. Here are some examples of these atrocities, compiled by Philadelphia Magazine:

  • Columbus cut off the hands of about 10,000 locals in Haiti and the Dominican Republic for failing to deliver gold every three months.
  • Columbus cut off the legs of local children who tried to escape from them.
  • He helped sex traffic nine- and ten-year-old girls.

Because of this, states and cities began to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day either alone or both.

Is Indigenous Peoples Day an official holiday?

It depends where you live.

Approximately 29 states and Washington, DC do not celebrate Columbus Day. According to renamecolumbusday.org, about 216 cities have renamed it or replaced it with “Indigenous Peoples Day.” Some states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day by proclamation, while others consider it an official holiday.

At the federal level, Indigenous Peoples Day has been presidentially proclaimed by the Biden administration for the past three years.

“Indigenous peoples are a beacon of resilience, strength and endurance, and a source of incredible contributions. Indigenous peoples and tribal nations continue to practice their cultures, remember their heritage, and pass on their history from generation to generation,” Biden wrote in the 2023 holiday proclamation.

Moving away from Columbus Day and celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day helps recognize Indigenous perspectives and provide a more comprehensive view of history, the Smithsonian said.

By celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, the museum says we can also honor the Native Americans who are still here and fighting for recognition and environmental rights.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *