As Michiganders mark Monday, Oct. 12, as a holiday, who you'll celebrate will largely reflect your worldview.
Monday, Oct. 12, marks Columbus Day, a federal holiday honoring 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the Caribbean, setting off European settlement in the Americas.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Oct. 7 defending Columbus Day and citing the holiday's significance for Italian Americans.
"We honor his life of valor, adventure, and ingenuity. We cherish his memory and pledge to safeguard his story. Above all, we remember with gratitude that the triumph of freedom and the glory of our Republic are the fruits of his faith and unrelenting devotion," the proclamation said about Columbus.
However, many states
and local municipalities celebrate the day as Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday uplifting Native peoples who suffered historical injustices amid European colonialism, according to National Geographic and the National Museum of the American Indian.
Michigan is the ancestral homeland of Anishinaabe peoples, with over 10,000 years of pre-European Indigenous presence, and is currently home to 12 federally recognized tribes.
Here's what to know about the two holidays and what they represent.
When is Columbus Day?
Columbus Day is celebrated on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026.
Is Columbus Day a federal holiday?
Yes, Columbus Day is a federal holiday.
When is Indigenous Peoples' Day?
Indigenous Peoples' Day is celebrated on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026.
Is Michigan celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day?
While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a proclamation in October 2025 declaring that Michigan would observe Indigenous Peoples' Day, no such proclamation has been released in 2026.
"We should honor the historic and contemporary significance of Indigenous Peoples, their cultures, their governments, and their ancestral lands that also became known as the Americas, and we celebrate their contributions to communities throughout the land we now call Michigan, the United States, and all over the world," Whitmer said in the 2025 proclamation.
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. The voyage marked the start of a new era, ushering in centuries of European colonialism in the "New World," the Americas, according to Norwich University.
However, historians note that Columbus actually intended to sail to India, mistakenly thinking sailing west would offer a quicker route to South Asia from Western Europe, according to PBS.
How did Columbus Day come about?
Columbus Day celebrations in the U.S. date to 1792, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Starting in 1892, the holiday became an occasion to honor Italian immigrants, then the subject of discrimination, under a proclamation by former President Benjamin Harrison.
Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Columbus Day a federal holiday in 1934, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
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.
"Celebrating Columbus and other explorers like him dismisses the devastating losses experienced by Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere in the past and the ongoing effects of colonialism today," the museum's website said.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Is Monday Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day? See controversy
