Ohio city replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day

OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) — A northern Ohio city will celebrate the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day instead of the federally recognized Columbus Day holiday.

Oberlin, southwest of Cleveland, is the first Ohio city to officially make such a change.

The city council voted unanimously on Monday after hearing public comments about whether to celebrate indigenous people rather than explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas.

Some residents in the city southwest of Cleveland objected to replacing Columbus Day, arguing that it’s more of a celebration of Italian-American heritage than of Columbus as an individual. Some suggested that Indigenous People’s Day could be celebrated on a different date.

Supporters of the change argued that honoring the Native Americans who lived in the area was the right thing to do.