In 2017, the state of North Carolina proclaimed the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day and in 2021, the president of the United States acknowledged Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time with an official proclamation. 

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day? 

An alternative to Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is “a celebration … to bring acknowledgment to the Native population”  and remove the focus from Columbus, a man who caused great harm to Native populations. 

Instead, “It can be a day of reflection of our history in the United States, the role Native people have played in it, the impacts that history has had on native people and communities, and also a day to gain some understanding of the diversity of Indigenous peoples,” according to Mandy Van Heuvelen, the cultural interpreter coordinator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Want to learn more about Indigenous peoples’ history, culture, and diverse experiences?

Check out a some of the books available through the Durham Tech Library collections.