Columbus Day renamed Indigenous Peoples Day

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Gov. Bill Walker opened the first day of the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage by renaming the second Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.

A proclamation effecting the change states that the idea was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation to the United Nations Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas.

It has since been accepted by cities across the country — the largest is Seattle — and Alaska is the first state to make the change.