The area around Bemidji, MN is surrounded by three reservations which essentially makes it a magnet city for Native Americans. It is also the first city on the Mississippi and as a proud city, with such rich heritage, many of us feel that Columbus Day observances should be more appropriately named Indigenous Peoples' Day. 

In recent years, many other cities have already made this change out of respect for this nation's original inhabitants:

• Minneapolis
• Seattle
• Red Wing, MN 
• Minnesota State University, Mankato 
• Grand Rapids, MN
• Traverse City, MI
• Newstead, NY
• Akron, NY 
• Akron Central School District 
• St. Paul, MN
• Lewiston, NY 
• Alaska
• San Fernando 
• Belfast, ME 
• Durango, CO 
• Asheville 
• University of Utah 
• Cornell University Student Assembly
• Cambridge, MA 
• Boulder, CO 

We want our children to walk in truth.

Respectfully,

The Bemidji Area Equity Coalition