Here Are The Cities That Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day Instead of Columbus Day

Long, long overdue, but finally, finally growing and happening! We humans can evolve. We can. We are. Bless all First Peoples! - Molly

Each year, more cities, states and universities opt to celebrate an alternative to Columbus Day: Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Instead of honoring Christopher Columbus, the Indigenous Peoples' Day recognizes Native Americans, who were the first inhabitants of the land that later became the United States of America. Advocates for the switch to Indigenous Peoples Day argue that Columbus did not "discover" America in 1492 but instead began the colonization of it. For decades, Native American activists have advocated abolishing Columbus Day, which became a federal holiday in 1937.

This year, both Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day are on Monday, Oct. 9.

While the United Nations declared August 9 as International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples in late 1994, Berkeley, Calif., had already become the first city in the U.S. to replace Columbus Day itself. The city's decision was influenced by the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito, Ecuador, in 1990, which spurred another Northern California conference that discussed similar issues and brought them to the Berkeley City Council, TIME has reported.

With the exception of Santa Cruz, Calif., and the state of South Dakota, which adopted the similar Native American Day in place of Columbus Day in 1990, the cities, states and universities that have chosen to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead have done so only recently, with cities like Minneapolis and Seattle voting to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead in 2014.

Which cities and states celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day?

States:

·         Minnesota

·         Vermont

·         Alaska

·         South Dakota*

Cities:

·         Los Angeles

·         Los Angeles County

·         Berkeley, Calif.

·         Santa Cruz, Calif.

·         San Fernando, Calif.

·         Burbank, Calif.

·         Long Beach, Calif.

·         San Luis Obispo, Calif.

·         Watsonville, Calif.

·         Seattle

·         Olympia, Wash.

·         Spokane, Wash.

·         Bainbridge Island, Wash.

·         Minneapolis

·         Grand Rapids, Minn.

·         St. Paul, Minn.

·         Denver

·         Durango, Colo.

·         Boulder, Colo.

·         Phoenix

·         Ann Arbor, Mich.

·         Traverse City, Mich.

·         Alpena, Mich.

·         East Lansing, Mich.

·         Ypsilanti, Mich.

·         Albuquerque, N.M.

·         Santa Fe

·         Portland

·         Eugene, Ore.

·         Newstead, New York

·         Village of Lewiston, New York**

·         Ithaca, New York

·         Anadarko, Okla.

·         Norman, Okla.

·         Tulsa, Okla.

·         Tahlequah, Okla.

·         Carrboro, N.C.

·         Asheville, N.C.

·         Belfast, Maine

·         Bangor, Maine

·         Orono, Maine

·         Brunswick, Maine**

·         Portland, Maine

·         Bexar County, Texas

·         Cambridge, Mass.

·         Amherst, Mass.

·         Northampton, Mass.

·         Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

·         Lawrence, Kansas

·         Davenport, Iowa

·         Durham, N.H.

·         Moscow, Idaho

·         Oberlin, Ohio

·         Salt Lake City

·         Austin, Texas

·         Nashville

·         Madison, Wis.

Please continue this article here: http://time.com/4968067/indigenous-peoples-day-columbus-day-cities/