We cannot allow history to be rewritten to honor violence, erasure, and injustice. President Trump’s decision to strip Indigenous Peoples Day from recognition and make October’s holiday solely about Christopher Columbus is a betrayal of truth, progress, and the countless Native lives lost to colonization.

Christopher Columbus did not "discover" America. He launched an era of brutal conquest that decimated Indigenous nations through violence, disease, and theft.

Honoring him alone is not a celebration of heritage. It is a celebration of genocide.

Indigenous Peoples Day was added to acknowledge the resilience, culture, and contributions of those who lived on this land long before Columbus ever set sail. It is an act of respect and honesty that America desperately needs more of, not less.

We fought hard for this recognition. We fought to teach our children the full story, not a myth that ignores the cost of conquest. Erasing Indigenous Peoples Day now would erase part of that truth. It would send a devastating message to Native communities that their suffering and survival are once again invisible, that their voices do not matter.

America should be a place that confronts its past with courage, not one that clings to false legends out of political convenience. We demand that Indigenous Peoples Day continue to be recognized alongside Columbus Day, honoring both the painful truth of our history and the strength of those who survived it.

Stand with us. Stand with justice. Stand for the Indigenous peoples of this land.

Photo: AP News