FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: MORE STATES MOVING TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY AND AWAY FROM COLUMBUS!

More States Say Goodbye to Columbus Day...Dancers prepare for last year’s Gathering of Nations powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is also home to the new Indigenous Peoples’ Day state holiday.Russell Contreras/The Associated Press

Growing up on the Sandia Pueblo Reservation, New Mexico state Rep. Derrick J. Lente learned the same Christopher Columbus stories in school that his parents and grandparents had learned. “I was taught he discovered my ancestors, essentially, no matter how far removed we are from the ocean,” said Lente, 40. Sandia people have cultivated land near Albuquerque since 1300 A.D. and trace their lineage to the Aztec civilization. “Christopher Columbus didn’t find us,” he said. “We have our own creation stories, our own language, our own history.” Lente later learned the Italian explorer, who set out to find a trade route to Asia, landed in the Bahamas in October 1492 and never set foot on what would become the United States. He concluded that Columbus “led genocide, rape, pillage and death, and he tried to extinguish a large Native American population.” This year, Lente, a second-term Democrat — in a state where more than a tenth of residents are American Indian — successfully sponsored a bill ditching Columbus Day, fighting back attempts to rename the holiday New Mexico Day or Friendship Day.......Alabama: Celebrates both Columbus Day and American Indian Heritage Day.

Alaska: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2017. Gov. Bill Walker signed observances of the holiday in 2015 and 2016 before making the switch official in 2017.

Hawaii: Observes Discoverers' Day in place of Columbus Day, with state law describing it as a day "in recognition of the Polynesian discoverers of the Hawaiian Islands."Maine: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2019, when Gov. Janet Mills said it was a step "in healing the divisions of the past, in fostering inclusiveness" and "in telling a fuller, deeper history."

Nebraska: Beginning in 2021, the state will recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day in addition to Columbus Day.

New Mexico: Observes Indigenous Peoples' Day as of 2019. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the day would celebrate the state's "23 sovereign indigenous nations and the essential place of honor native citizens hold inOklahoma: In 2019, the state voted to move Native American Day to the same day as Columbus Day so the two could be celebrated concurrently.

Oregon: Passed a law in 2021 designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

South Dakota: Has observed Native American Day since 1990.

Vermont: A law was passed in 2019 replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day.Arizona: In 2020, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a proclamation recognizing October 12 that year as Indigenous Peoples' Day in addition to Columbus Day, per CNN affiliate KNXV.

California: In addition to commemorating Native American Day in late September, Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed yearly proclamations marking Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday in October.

Iowa: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds made a proclamation in 2018 designating Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Louisiana: The Pelican State doesn't recognize Columbus Day. Gov. John Bel Edwards declared October 14, 2019, the state's first Indigenous Peoples' Day.Michigan: On October 14, 2019, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared the day to be Indigenous Peoples' Day "to uplift our country's indigenous roots, history, and contributions."

Minnesota: In 2019, Gov. Tim Walz signed a proclamation declaring the second Monday in October that year as Indigenous Peoples' Day. The state is home to 11 tribal nations.

Nevada: Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a proclamation in 2020 marking October 12 that year as Indigenous Peoples' Day, saying, in part, that it "allows us to rethink our history" and recognize "the important contributions of Indigenous People in the State of Nevada."

North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper has made yearly proclamations designating the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Virginia: In 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam declared Monday the first Indigenous Peoples' Day in Virginia, calling it an "important step in creating an inclusive, honest Commonwealth." The state is home to 11 native tribes.

Wisconsin: Gov. Tony Evers established Indigenous Peoples' Day via an executive order days before the observance in 2019.

Washington, DC: The DC Council voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day a few days before the 2019 observance.