Christopher Columbus didn\u2019t meet an empty continent.<\/p>\n
The state of Alaska will now recognize that fact.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the Alaska Senate voted 18-1 to approve House Bill 78 and label the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day. That day is also known as Columbus Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want it to be an inclusive day,\u201d said Rep. Dean Westlake, R-Kotzebue and the sponsor of HB 78.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether my friends are Vikings or African-Americans, we\u2019re all in this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In Alaska, Columbus Day is a federal holiday \u2014 as it is in the rest of the United States \u2014 but it has never been formally recognized as a holiday by the state of Alaska. While your mail won\u2019t get delivered on Columbus Day, state and municipal employees still go to work.<\/p>\n
HB 78 doesn\u2019t change that, and it doesn\u2019t replace Columbus Day either. Both holidays will exist side-by-side on the same date.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made my day,\u201d said Rosita Worl, director of the Sealaska Heritage Institute and a supporter of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people might think it\u2019s just a symbolic thing, but to me, I think we\u2019re going in the right direction,\u201d she said, explaining that it is a recognition of diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am grateful to the Legislature for doing this, and of course to the governor for starting the movement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The success of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day this year follows repeated failed attempts in previous legislative sessions. Westlake recalls five other tries, and there may be more, according to legislative records. Last year, one such attempt passed the House but failed to pass the Senate.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, six states and 42 major American cities have adopted Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day as a supplement or replacement for Columbus Day.<\/p>\n
Gov. Bill Walker has proclaimed Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day on Columbus Day for the past two years. HB 78 regularizes that declaration and makes it automatic.<\/p>\n
The move was supported by Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Alaska Federation of Natives, Sealaska Heritage Institute and Doyon Ltd., among others.<\/p>\n
The reason for the push is straightforward: Columbus Day is seen as recognizing only the white, European side of the first-contact story. Adding Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day recognizes that there were more points of view in 1492.<\/p>\n
When the House passed HB 78 in February, Westlake said (to laughter from fellow legislators) that it places the holiday \u201con the same day that indigenous people discovered Christopher Columbus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everyone agrees with the idea of a shared holiday.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Senate President Pete Kelly was the lone \u201cno\u201d vote on the bill. He said having the holiday on Columbus Day \u201ckind of makes it a little bit political.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the House, where seven lawmakers voted \u201cno,\u201d that view was more widespread.<\/p>\n
It remains a minority view, however, and HB 78 is headed to Walker\u2019s desk for his signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is by having this day of recognition, it will help people come together, in unification and celebration, and in appreciation of our multicultural state,\u201d said Sen. Donny Olson, D-Golovin and the bill\u2019s Senate sponsor, by email.<\/p>\n
As Westlake added, \u201cWhether you\u2019re a fourth-generation Alaskan or a 400th generation Alaskan, we want to celebrate this. This is just a date of inclusiveness and celebrating. It\u2019s a great day to be indigenous.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 419-7732.<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Christopher Columbus didn\u2019t meet an empty continent. The state of Alaska will now recognize that fact. On Sunday, the Alaska Senate voted 18-1 to approve House Bill 78 and label the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day. That day is also known as Columbus Day. \u201cWe want it to be an inclusive day,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":28731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[34,230],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-28730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-alaska-legislature","tag-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28730"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=28730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}