Long Beach abolishes Columbus Day

Cris Rivera (49er Staff Writer, Oct. 4, 2017) edited by Wisdom Quarterly  Comment

Councilmember Jeannine Pearce (middle) congratulates supporters of Indigenous Peoples' Day with signs, "Support Long Beach Indigenous Peoples Day," after unanimous vote (Cris Rivera).

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Long Beach replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Ahh! I can't believe it! We really did it!

Oct. 9 will now be celebrated as Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day.
 

The decision to adopt Indigenous Peoples’ Day in place of Columbus Day was met with cheer and applause from the crowd at the Long Beach City Council meeting Tuesday night.

 

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a movement

The newly dubbed holiday will be celebrated Oct. 9 this year but won’t be officially observed until 2018 in Long Beach.

 

While still federally recognized as Columbus Day -- which has been a national holiday since 1937 -- Indigenous Peoples’ Day strives to acknowledge and celebrate Native American history and culture.

 

Cheyenne Phoenix, president of the Native American Student Association at Long Beach City College, described to the councilmembers and crowd what it was like to grow up as a Native American. More

• The LIST of cities adopting the day is growing!