Indigenous Peoples Day Is About Celebrating A Fuller History

Maine, for the first time, will celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday. The move, approved by lawmakers earlier this year, is an overdue recognition of the importance of Maine’s — and the country’s — indigenous people in our shared history. It does not wipe Christopher Columbus or other explorers from our history books, but renamining the October holiday moves us toward a fuller understanding of the origins of the country that became the United States of America. Two of Maine’s largest cities, Bangor and Portland, already celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October.