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Members of Cetiliztli Nauhcampa perform traditional dances at the first Annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Ceremonial Celebration in Newton, Massachusetts on October 11, 2021. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles city and county offices will be closed Monday for Indigenous Peoples’ Day while federal offices will be closed for Columbus Day, which remains a federal holiday.
LA city, county offices closed
Local perspective:
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is not a state holiday, so state courts and other state offices will be open. A bill approved by the Legislature in 1998 and signed into law by then-Gov. Pete Wilson designated the fourth Friday in September as Native American Day, a state holiday when state courts and other state offices are closed.
Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District will also be open.Â
Buses, rail services and Metrolink trains in Los Angeles run on a regular schedule.
Are banks, post offices, and shipping services open?
Big picture view:
The U.S. Postal Service does not deliver regular mail on Columbus Day, and post offices will be closed.
Most bank branches including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank are closed.Â
As for shipping services, UPS pickup and delivery services will be available and UPS Store locations are open. FedEx pickup and delivery services will also be available and FedEx Office locations are open.
Most federal and state government offices, including courts, are closed.
Trash collection and other public services may also be affected depending on where you live.Â
Are grocery stores, restaurants, and retail stores open?
What we know:
Most grocery stores, restaurants and retail stores are open for regular hours, but check with your local store before heading out the door.
History behind Indigenous Peoples’ Day
The backstory:
A 2017 ordinance declared the second Monday in October in Los Angeles as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, replacing Columbus Day as a holiday on the city calendar.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors also voted in 2017 to declare the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, replacing Columbus Day as a holiday on the county calendar.
More than 100 cities around the nation have opted to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day.
A multicultural Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration highlighting Indigenous identity, art, dance and history will be held from noon-2 p.m. at Cal State Los Angeles and include performances, art workshops and educational videos.
The other side:
The Oct. 12, 1492, sighting of land by a sailor on board the Pinta during Christopher Columbus’ initial voyage to the Americas was first marked as a holiday in 1892.
President Benjamin Harrison declared Oct. 21, 1892, “as a general holiday for the people of the United States” to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America following passage of a joint resolution by both houses of Congress.
The resolution came in response to a lynching in New Orleans, where a mob had killed 11 Italian immigrants.
Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1968, celebrated on the second Monday in October under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
In his proclamation declaring Monday as Columbus Day, President Donald Trump said, “Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage. Before our very eyes, left-wing radicals toppled his statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character, and sought to exile him from our public spaces.
“Under my leadership, those days are finally over — and our nation will now abide by a simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination.”
The Source: Information for this story is from City News Service and USA Today.Â