The second Monday in October is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to celebrate the culture and contributions of native peoples and to reflect on their experiences.
Indigenous Peoples of Washington State
The University of Washington and UW Medicine sit on land that was and still is home to Indigenous peoples. Read the UW’s land acknowledgement.
There are 29 federally recognized tribes in the state of Washington, along with some that have yet to receive federal recognition, such as the Duwamish. Indigenous peoples in Washington have a rich cultural history that predates European settlement by thousands of years. Tribes such as the Coast Salish, Spokane, Yakama and Makah are deeply connected to the land, rivers and coastal waters that define the state. Despite the impacts of colonization, including displacement and treaties that undermined their sovereignty, Indigenous communities and people in Washington have maintained traditions, languages and cultural practices and engaged in political and environmental advocacy to protect their ancestral lands and rights. Today, tribes like the Tulalip, Lummi and Suquamish are active in the state’s government, economy and environmental efforts.
History of Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Since the 1970s, activists have called for Columbus Day to be abolished and replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In 2021, President Biden officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a federal holiday. In 2022, the Seattle City Council voted to legally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a city holiday.
While in the United States, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday of October, there is an International Indigenous Peoples’ Day, celebrated annually on August 9, which recognizes the rights, cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples worldwide.
History and Myths of Columbus Day
When Columbus came ashore in 1492 on land that we now call the Bahamas, he was not the first outsider to have explored the Americas — yet the myth that he discovered this land persists. (And he mistakenly thought he had landed in India.) In fact, other explorers had been here before him, and Indigenous peoples had already been living here since time immemorial.
Columbus Day was initially celebrated — as early as the 1700s — to recognize Italian American heritage. Italian Americans faced discrimination and laws restricting their immigration to the United States in late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, since the 1970s, activists have advocated celebrating Indigenous People’ Day instead to honor the people who were first here, not the colonizers. Columbus Day is still a recognized federal holiday.
Resources
- Learn about the traditional blanket ceremony that honors graduates of the UW School of Medicine’s Indian Health Pathway.
- Hear from some of our Native American colleagues about their pride in their heritage and cultural traditions.
- Take the Indigenous Walking Tour around the UW campus and learn the significance of local places to Indigenous peoples. Also, visit the UW wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, one of the stops on the tour.
- Learn about the work students in the UW School of Medicine Indian Health Pathway are doing as they advocate for Native communities and work to end health disparities Native peoples face.
- Learn how the UW School of Social Work’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute supports Indigenous health and decolonizes scientific research.
- Learn more about the UW Office of Tribal Relations.
- Visit the Burke Museum to learn about Northwest Native art and cultures and learn more about how the museum cultivates an ethical relationship with local tribal communities.
- Support Native-owned businesses.
Photo caption: “Guests from the Great River” art installation in front of the Burke Museum.
