Michigan to Observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day Alongside Federal Columbus Day
LANSING – As teh United States marks Columbus Day as a federal holiday on October 14, 2025, Michigan will also recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, acknowledging the important impact of European settlement on Native American communities. The observance comes amid ongoing national debate surrounding the legacy of Christopher Columbus.
Historical records show Indigenous peoples suffered theft, loss of their homelands, enslavement, death, forced displacement and disrupted cultural traditions due to European settlement. Native America saw its population decline by 95% within 130 years of initial European contact, according to museum data.
“Celebrating Columbus and other explorers like him dismisses the devastating losses experienced by Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere in the past and the ongoing effects of colonialism today,” a statement on a museum website reads.
Columbus Day remains a federal holiday, with President Trump issuing a proclamation on October 9, 2025, praising Columbus as “the original American hero” and criticizing efforts to reframe the day to focus on Indigenous peoples. The proclamation stated, “This Columbus Day, we honor his life with reverence and gratitude, and we pledge to reclaim his remarkable legacy…from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory.”
Celebrations of Columbus Day in the U.S.date back to 1792. In 1892, the holiday became a way to honor Italian immigrants, who faced discrimination at the time, following a proclamation by President Benjamin Harrison. President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated columbus day a federal holiday in 1934.
