Indigenous Peoples’ Events

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated each year on the University of Idaho Campus in place of the federally recognized holiday: Columbus Day. Moscow became the first city in Idaho to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in 2017. Two years later, Idaho Governor Brad Little issued a proclamation officially recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2019. Governments and other organizations across the country have been shifting from celebrating Columbus Day, which celebrates the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in North America in 1492, to honoring the history, culture and contributions of indigenous people instead. Columbus’ arrival to the present-day Bahamas marked the beginning of western European settlement of the continent, but also the long-running, violent conquest of people groups who had lived on the continent for thousands of years.