The Second Monday in October
Posted on Oct 08, 2025 by Shari Van Baale
While this coming Monday is the federal holiday known as Columbus Day (also known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in some states), did you know that the state of Kansas celebrates neither? While it is a federal holiday, it is not a paid holiday for state workers, nor is it a day off of school.
According to pewresearch.org, “Depending on where in the United States you live and whom you work for, Columbus Day may be a day off with pay, another holiday entirely, or no different from any other Monday. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, is one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s one of 11 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. ... Beyond that, Columbus Day seems to be fading as a widely observed holiday, having come under fire in recent decades from Native American advocates and others, who’ve argued that Christopher Columbus isn’t an appropriate person to celebrate.”
The holiday has become quite contentious lately. According to The Conversation, “For many Indigenous peoples, Columbus Day is a controversial holiday. This is because Columbus is viewed not as a discoverer, but rather as a colonizer. His arrival led to the forceful taking of land and set the stage for widespread death and loss of Indigenous ways of life.”
So, in 1990, South Dakota became the first state to officially recognize Native Americans’ Day, commonly referred to as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in other parts of the country. Lawrence and Wichita are among Kansas cities to formally authorize the celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day.
In case you have forgotten what you learned in history class, Christopher Columbus was a European explorer who set sail in August 1492 (remember the old rhyme, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…”?) in search of a new trade route to Asia. Columbus and his crew took three medium-sized ships — the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. After almost 30 days they spotted land. He called the natives “indios” (Spanish for “Indians”), thinking he had reached the East Indies. I’ll spare you the details of the rest of his journey. You can read about it online if you are interested.
Observed the second Monday in October, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday in 1937. However, according to History.com, “The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792 … to commemorate the historic landing’s 300th anniversary. Taking pride in Columbus’ birthplace and faith, Italian and Catholic communities in various parts of the country began organizing annual religious ceremonies and parades in his honor. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage with patriotic festivities.” So, celebrations were around much earlier than 1937.
Pewresearch.org goes on to say that 16 states and one territory still observe the second Monday in October as an official public holiday exclusively called Columbus Day. “Even places with official Columbus Day holidays sometimes give them alternative monikers. Nebraska and Rhode Island, for instance, have designated the second Monday in October to be Indigenous Peoples’ Day as well as Columbus Day.” CLICK HERE to read more about the differing names and which states observe them.
But, Kansas as a state observes neither Columbus Day nor Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Celebrating either … or both … has become very controversial. Some see celebrating the later as a more impartial solution.
According to the Arizona Mirror, “Indigenous Peoples’ Day offers an opportunity for educators to rethink how they teach what some have characterized as a ‘sanitized’ story of the arrival of Columbus. This version omits or downplays the devastating impact of Columbus’ arrival on Indigenous peoples. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is an opportunity to reconcile tensions between these two perspectives.”
Growing up, we were always taught that Columbus was sort of a hero and to celebrate his discoveries. Perhaps it is time to see both sides of the story.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator
Note: This Staff Trax is an updated version of the one I wrote in October 2022.