Are Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day on the same date?

Yes. Both are observed on the second Monday of October. Federal statute (5 U.S.C. section 6103) sets this as the federal Columbus Day holiday; states and cities that recognize Indigenous Peoples Day observe it on the same Monday.

How many states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day?

At least 14 states and the District of Columbia recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in some form, either in place of or alongside Columbus Day. They include Alaska, Hawaii, Minnesota, Vermont, South Dakota, North Carolina, Virginia, Maine, Iowa, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Several large cities (Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Cambridge MA, and others) observe it locally.

Is one of these holidays replacing the other?

It varies by jurisdiction. Some states (South Dakota, Vermont) replaced Columbus Day with Native Americans Day or Indigenous Peoples Day. Other states (Virginia, Iowa) added Indigenous Peoples Day alongside the existing Columbus Day. The federal holiday remains Columbus Day.

What is the historical argument for Columbus Day?

The holiday was promoted in the 19th and early 20th centuries by Italian-American civic organizations (notably the Knights of Columbus) to commemorate Italian immigration, in a period of significant anti-Italian discrimination. Supporters also note that 1492 marks the start of sustained European contact with the Americas.

What is the historical argument for Indigenous Peoples Day?

Critics of Columbus Day point to the violence and enslavement that Columbus’s expedition initiated in the Caribbean, and to the broader displacement and death of Indigenous peoples across the Americas that followed European contact. Indigenous Peoples Day frames the same October Monday as a day of mourning, reflection, or recognition of Indigenous survival.

A contested October Monday

Columbus Day vs Indigenous Peoples Day - same date, two civic frames

Same Monday in October, but different civic story. One frames it as a celebration of Italian-American heritage and the encounter of Old and New World; the other frames it as a day of mourning or recognition of the impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples. Side-by-side comparison.

Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day are observed on the same Monday (the second Monday of October) but frame the day differently. The federal holiday remains Columbus Day; at least 14 states and the District of Columbia recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in some form. Here is the side-by-side.

At a glance

Item	Columbus Day	Indigenous Peoples Day
Date	Second Monday of October	Second Monday of October
Federal status	Federal holiday since 1934; date rule 1971	Not a federal holiday; observed by 14+ states and DC
Origin	Italian-American commemoration (1792 first observance; 1934 federal)	Berkeley, CA 1992; South Dakota 1990
Postal / banks	USPS closed; Federal Reserve closed; banks typically closed	Same as Columbus Day (same Monday)
NYSE / NASDAQ	Open	Open
Civic frame	Celebration of Italian-American heritage; encounter of Old and New World	Recognition of Indigenous survival; mourning for colonization impacts

Two civic stories of the same day

Columbus Day traces to the 1792 New York Society of St. Tammany celebration of the 300th anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landfall in the Bahamas. The holiday was institutionalized by Italian-American civic organizations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly the Knights of Columbus, in a period of significant anti-Italian discrimination. FDR made it a federal holiday in 1934; the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 fixed it on the second Monday of October.

Indigenous Peoples Day was first proclaimed by Berkeley, California in 1992, on the 500th anniversary of Columbus's landfall. South Dakota renamed Columbus Day to Native Americans Day in 1990. The movement expanded through the 2010s and 2020s; at least 14 states and DC now recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.

What it looks like in practice

In jurisdictions that observe Indigenous Peoples Day, the day typically features educational events, land acknowledgements, and gatherings organized by local Indigenous communities. In jurisdictions that observe Columbus Day, the day is typically a quiet civic holiday with federal / postal closures and Italian-American heritage events.

The honest framing

Both holidays are present in US civic life. The federal holiday is Columbus Day; state and city recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day is increasingly common but not universal. We present both with citations and without pretending either frame is the "correct" one.

Why this comparison is the most contested

This is the most publicly contested holiday comparison in the United States. In 2026, 14 states plus the District of Columbia and roughly 130 cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day as the official name on the second Monday of October - although federal law still recognizes Columbus Day, and federal employees, postal workers, and banks observe "Columbus Day" on that date regardless of state name changes. The debate is not simply "rename the holiday" - it is about which origin story the United States chooses to anchor an October federal day, and how public institutions teach the four-century arc of European-American contact with the Americas.

Columbus Day as an observance has roots in the Italian-American community's push for recognition. President Benjamin Harrison in 1892 proclaimed a Columbus Day for the 400th anniversary of the 1492 voyage; the day was made a federal holiday in 1934, in part thanks to lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and the Italian-American community. Indigenous Peoples Day as an observance traces to a 1977 UN conference on Indigenous Peoples in the Americas; Berkeley, California, became the first US municipality to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in 1992 (the 500th anniversary year). The 2010s saw state-level adoptions accelerate, with Vermont (2017), Maine (2019), New Mexico (2019), and others following. The naming question has remained unresolved at the federal level.

Origins in historical record

The Columbus Day origin is the 1492 voyage: Christopher Columbus, sailing under Spanish royal commission, reached the Bahamas in October 1492 and returned to Europe with news of land in the western Atlantic. The 1934 federal holiday codified this as the origin point for a national day. The Indigenous Peoples Day origin is the prior and continuing presence of Indigenous peoples in the Americas; the 1977 UN conference and the 1992 Berkeley resolution formalized a counter-framing that emphasizes pre-1492 civilizations and the four centuries of subsequent contact, displacement, and treaty-making.

The historical reality underlying both observances is more complex than either framing admits. Columbus was not the first European to reach the Americas (Norse voyages preceded him by 500 years), and contact with Indigenous peoples began with violence and disease on both sides. The Wampanoag and Taíno encountered Columbus on his first voyage; the Wampanoag and Pilgrims at Plymouth (1621); and the construction of the contemporary United States involved treaty-making, forced removal (the Trail of Tears, 1830s), boarding schools (1870s-1920s), and ongoing Indigenous sovereignty movements. The two observance names pick different moments from this record - one the moment of contact, the other the centuries of presence that preceded and continued after contact.

Why the two days coexisting continues to frustrate

The federal government has not renamed Columbus Day. Public universities, school districts, and municipalities have, with the result that on the second Monday of October, "Columbus Day" is what federal agencies and banks observe, while state and local governments in many jurisdictions observe "Indigenous Peoples Day." Some states recognize both names simultaneously on the same day - South Dakota for years officially recognized "Native Americans' Day" on the second Monday of October, without removing Columbus Day. Alaska observes "Alaska Day" on its own date. Hawaii observes "Discoverers' Day" with a different historical referent (the Polynesian voyages).

The 14 states plus DC that have replaced Columbus Day as of 2026: Alaska (substituted with "Alaska Day"), Hawaii ("Discoverers' Day"), South Dakota ("Native Americans' Day"), Vermont, Maine, New Mexico, Arizona (substituted as "Indigenous Peoples Day" but state-level only), Colorado (DNI 2024), Minnesota, California, Nevada, Washington state, Wisconsin, Michigan. Some of these are ceremonial name-changes only; others shift the day's official focus to Indigenous history, culture, and civic engagement without affecting the federal holiday status.

What the calendar day actually means in 2026

Practically: federal offices closed, postal mail not delivered, banks closed, NYSE and NASDAQ closed on Monday October 12, 2026. Most private employers give the day off (the legal entitlement in most states). State employees: covered by their state's holiday calendar, which in 14 states may give a different name and different reading. Schools: most US K-12 schools close for the day, and many now incorporate Indigenous history or civic reading into the week's lessons. Retail and restaurants: most open, with retail running Columbus Day furniture sales that have been a feature since the 1990s and are unrelated to either framing.

If you are planning to write or speak about this day, the more accurate framing in 2026 is to acknowledge the coexistence of both observances, link to the contested history rather than the celebratory framing, and avoid the rhetorical trap of "Columbus did not discover America" (true but trivial) without acknowledging the deeper record (Indigenous presence, treaty making, ongoing sovereignty movements).

Sources

See full briefs: Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
Wikipedia, "Indigenous Peoples Day (United States)": en.wikipedia.org