ANALYSIS: New York bill aiming to eliminate Columbus Day resembles university resolutions to erase the federal holiday

Recently, New York State Democrat Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Marcela Mitaynes introduced a bill that would officially erase Columbus Day as a state holiday and replace it with Indigenous People’s Day.

The bill states that “[r]enaming the holiday is a small beginning in recognizing indigenous people for their historic and ongoing contributions to our history, culture and economic life.” 

To justify the proposed change, the bill argues that “Christopher Columbus did not discover America” and does not warrant the holiday. Additionally, the authors of the bill accuse the holiday of being a celebration of colonialism and oppression.

“Indigenous People’s Day reimagines Columbus Day and changes a celebration of colonialism into an opportunity to reveal historical truths about the genocide and oppression of indigenous people in the Americas, to organize against current injustices, and to celebrate indigenous resistance,” the bill read. 

If the bill passes it will take immediate effect. 

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While the controversy surrounding Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day has made its way to the state legislature, the federal holiday has been the subject of debate in higher education institutions for some time. 

In the spring of 2016, the State University of New York Student Assembly voted to approve a resolution to observe Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day to celebrate Native Americans. 

That same year during the fall semester, Syracuse University also observed Indigenous People’s Day instead of the federal holiday as a part of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity measures proposed by Chancellor Kent Syverud’s “Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion.” 

“Columbus Day is not a Syracuse University-recognized holiday, nor does it appear on the Academic Calendar. Beginning this fall, the University will institute Indigenous Peoples Day as a campus initiative to honor indigenous history and culture on the second Monday of October,” the initiative read. 

In 2017, SUNY Cortland passed a similar resolution renaming the holiday “an annual opportunity to reflect on the contributions of indigenous peoples to American history.”

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The resolution argues that Columbus Day is insulting to ‘indigenous peoples.”

“[T]here is growing recognition and understanding in the United States that the celebration of Columbus’ ‘Discovery of America’ is insulting to indigenous peoples and directly contrary to the fact that a way of life for indigenous people was irrevocably impacted with the arrival of the first European immigrants to the Americas,” the proposal stated. 

SUNY Cortland, however, could not define the term indigenous people, opting for a self-proclaimed identity instead. 

“While there is no universal definition of Indigenous Peoples, there is concurrence that Indigenous Peoples self-identify as indigenous and are recognized as such by their communities,” the resolution read. “Their cultural, economic, social, and political beliefs and systems are rooted in places and histories that are distinct from the post-colonial societies and cultures in which they are embedded.”

Despite universities’ radical push to erase the federal holiday and the recently proposed bill, not all members of the left agree on the issue. 

Shortly after the bill was introduced, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and her Republican opponent Representative Lee Zeldin voiced their opposition to the bill. 

“Gov. Hochul does not support eliminating Columbus Day,” a spokesperson for Hochul told the New York Post. “She looks forward to again marching in the Columbus Day Parade and proudly proclaiming Columbus Day this year, and she will continue to be a strong supporter of the Italian American community.”

Campus Reform contacted every person, university, and organization mentioned and will update this article accordingly. 

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