This petition is asking cities, counties, and schools everywhere* to adopt Indigenous Peoples' Day as a replacement for Columbus Day, as hundreds have already done. Well-established facts now show that the second Monday in October should have always been Indigenous Peoples' Day, and it's time to give the day back to those for whom it has true historical significance:

1) Christopher Columbus never set foot on the North American continent, whereas other Europeans did so centuries before he was born, and yet other people did so 15k+ years before that. No matter how you look at it, Columbus did not discover America.

2) As for being a great navigator, Columbus's bad math had him so completely lost in 1492 that he thought the populated Caribbean islands he "discovered" were India/Indonesia. That's why he insisted on calling the native populations "Indians", an error that still causes everyone confusion today. But India is on the opposite side of the world from the Caribbean, and you literally cannot be any more lost navigationally than being on the opposite side of the world from where you think you are.

3) Columbus's primary interest was gold, and one thing he did discover was that the "Indians" could be enslaved to collect gold for him through the use of extreme violence, including dismembering of children, live human burnings, and countless other horrific crimes that led to what today would be prosecuted as genocide. And when Columbus finally realized that no amount of violence could force the Indians to collect gold that didn't exist, he instead became the founder of the Transatlantic slave trade. As for historical moral standards, mass murder of innocent people, child rape, and needless torture were just as inherently immoral in the 1490's as today. That's why Columbus was eventually arrested, sent back to Spain in chains, and put in prison for his crimes in the Caribbean. And even after his release from prison, he was never allowed to "govern" anywhere ever again due to his savagery. In short, what we now know about Christopher Columbus's character epitomizes the polar opposite of what those who originally established Columbus Day intended to honor.

4) DNA analysis in 2024 found that Columbus was actually of Spanish descent, not Italian (references: Fox News​,  CNN​,  Reuters), rendering his status as an Italian-American symbol nonsensical. And more significantly for all Americans is the fact that Columbus sailed for Spain (i.e. worked for Spain), not Italy. This means that if Columbus had "discovered" the continent we now call home, Spain probably would have done here what it did in the Caribbean, and there wouldn't even be a United States today. Even without Columbus reaching North America, the United States still eventually had to fight wars against both Spain and Mexico (formerly "New Spain").

5) Few Americans knew much about Christopher Columbus until a fiction writer in the 1830's fabricated heroic stories about him as a scheme to sell books, and a U.S. President in the 1930's enacted a holiday for him as a scheme to buy votes. It's a silver lining that the lies behind Columbus Day helped reduce discrimination against Italian immigrants back when that was a problem. But discrimination against Italians is no longer a significant issue in America. And with the truth about Christopher Columbus now well known, continuing to celebrate such a symbol of greed and bigotry isn't going to benefit future Italian Americans, nor any Americans. He's a horrible role model, and many are coming to resent the forced adherence to fake history that has us honoring such a despicable figure.

6) While the second Monday in October has essentially no significance to actual Italian American history (aside from a briefly beneficial "borrowing"), it does have monumental significance to Indigenous (Native) American history. It's a day that has rippled through Indigenous lives in devastating ways for more than 500 years. In short, the second Monday of October has always been Indigenous Peoples' Day. And it's time to give the day back to those for whom it has true historical meaning. Doing so can be an honor.

If you still believe that a gold seeker who got lost, benefited from sex trafficking and dismembering children, founded the Transatlantic slave trade, and never even set foot on the North American continent should be one of only two people to have a United States federal holiday named after him, please explore more. Or if you're on board to help correct one of our country's most absurd yet easiest-to-fix mistakes, please sign this petition and share the information here with every conscientious person you know. And if you're up for leading a real adventure, feel free to copy/adapt this petition and be the change in your city, county, or school.

• Common concerns
• Donate to support this effort
• Copy this petition to your city, county, or school

*One exception: The state of New Hampshire has made it illegal to not recognize Columbus Day in cities and schools. But you can still share the truth about history there. In the long run, truth is what sets everyone free from forced honoring of the dishonorable. And fortunately, the truth never goes away.