Story perspectives

Oklahoma City Council Makes Indigenous Peoples’ Day Permanent

By Drooid · Oct 12, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Cities Celebrate Indigenous Day

U.S. cities host Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrations on Oct. 12, 2026, featuring ceremonies, parades and cultural programs.
Rochester, N.Y., holds sunrise ceremony at Cobbs Hill, then Boriquen dance, parade and sunset ceremony.
Minneapolis sunrise ceremony at Bde Maka Ska includes tobacco offerings, sage smudging and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Oklahoma City Council unanimously approves Oct. 12 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, making the designation permanent for the First Americans Museum event.

Summary

Trump Rejects Proclamation

President Donald Trump publicly declined to issue an Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation in 2025, keeping Columbus Day.
President Joe Biden issued the inaugural Indigenous Peoples’ Day proclamation in 2021, formally recognizing the holiday.
Seventeen states and Washington, D.C. have official Indigenous Peoples’ Day holidays as of 2026.
Vermont and Maine observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day, while Rhode Island observes both on the same date.

History

Historical Context

In 1977 a UN-sponsored conference in Geneva raised the idea of replacing Columbus Day with an Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Inspired by Bay Area protests, Berkeley’s city council declared October 12 a “Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People” and renamed Columbus Day in 1992, launching an annual celebration. The move helped spur dozens of U.S. cities and 14 states to adopt Indigenous Peoples’ Day by the mid-2020s.

1 of 3

Cities Celebrate Indigenous Day

U.S. cities host Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrations on Oct. 12, 2026, featuring ceremonies, parades and cultural programs.
Rochester, N.Y., holds sunrise ceremony at Cobbs Hill, then Boriquen dance, parade and sunset ceremony.
Minneapolis sunrise ceremony at Bde Maka Ska includes tobacco offerings, sage smudging and Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Oklahoma City Council unanimously approves Oct. 12 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, making the designation permanent for the First Americans Museum event.

1 / 3