Labor Day is over, but you'll only have to wait a month until fall's next three-day weekend, set to come around a controversial mid-October holiday.
The next three-day weekend in Michigan is Oct. 10-12, with Oct. 12 marking Columbus Day, a federal holiday, also recognized in Michigan as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Columbus Day honors 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the Caribbean, setting off European settlement in the Americas, while Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrates Native peoples who suffered historical injustices amid European colonialism, according to National Geographic and the National Museum of the American Indian.
The two holidays on the same day reveal competing narratives over U.S. history, largely across political
divides.
Here's what to know about the next three-day weekend.
When is Michigan's next three-day weekend?
The next three-day weekend in Michigan is Oct. 10-12, 2026, for the federal holiday Columbus Day, also recognized in Michigan as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
The holiday falls on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026.
Who does Columbus Day celebrate?
Columbus Day honors Christopher Columbus, a 15th century Italian explorer and navigator who sailed to the Caribbean on behalf of the Spanish monarchy in 1492, according to National Geographic. Thevoyage marked the start of a new era, ushering in centuries of European colonialism in the "new world," the Americas, according to Norwich University.
How did Indigenous Peoples' Day come about?
Indigenous Peoples' Day began in the late 1980s amid efforts to promote Native American rights, providing another option instead of Columbus Day, according to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
The holiday affirms indigenous heritage, shifting the focus away from honoring Europeans who brought harm to Native peoples, historians note. The National Museum of the American Indian recalls how Indigenous peoples suffered theft, loss of their homelands, enslavement, death, forced displacement and disrupted cultural traditions due to European settlement. Native America saw its population decline by 95% within 130 years of initial European contact, the museum said.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Labor Day gone too soon? Here's when the next 3-day weekend falls
