New York State recognizes Columbus Day as a paid holiday on the second Monday in October, but there is ongoing debate over the legacy of Christopher Columbus on Indigenous people. Legislation has been proposed to transform Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples Day statewide, and similar legislation has been proposed at the federal level. However, the current administration of President Donald Trump supports Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian American heritage. The holiday has been a source of controversy, with activists targeting historical monuments of Columbus for destruction.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York State officially recognizes the paid holiday Columbus Day on the second Monday in October. On Sunday night, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s warning about a coastal storm ultimately cancelled the 2025 New York City Columbus Day parade set for Monday amid debate over the legacy of Christopher Columbus on Indigenous people.


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A nor’easter with predicted 60-mile-an-hour winds drowned out the parade, traditionally held on Fifth Avenue. Event organizers said it won’t be rescheduled and that they look forward to 2026.

Today, advocates argue the day should recognize the destruction of Indigenous North American cultures during the era of European colonialism that followed the voyages of Columbus. In New York, legislation dating back to 2017 would transform Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples Day statewide. The proposal maintains the second Monday in October as a legal public holiday.


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The sponsors of S2227/A3868—Democratic State Senator Jessica Ramos and Democratic Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes—justified their proposal by arguing that Columbus did not discover America. They said that renaming the holiday would help recognize the “contributions to our history, culture and economic life” that come from Indigenous people who suffered historical genocide and ongoing oppression.

Under the previous administration of President Joe Biden, federal lawmakers had proposed similar legislation to reimagine the holiday. In September 2023, S2970 in the Senate and HR5822 in the House of Representatives offered a similar change from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Among New York’s delegation, Democratic Congressmembers Adriano Espaillat, Greg Meeks, Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former Democratic Congressmember Jamaal Bowman all signed on, though the bill didn’t advance in either house of Congress.


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Under the current administration of President Donald Trump, Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian American heritage has strong support. Trump, a native New Yorker, issued a proclamation on Thursday that detailed a “legendary Christopher Columbus—the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization.” The president said he was “reinstating Columbus Day” on October 13 after a campaign to erase American history and slander American heroes.

Republican Congressmembers Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler, both Italian Americans from New York, both publicly praised Trump’s pro-Columbus actions on social media. Lawler said he wants to celebrate the history, heritage, and contributions of Italian Americans.


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A week ahead of Columbus Day, on October 6, Republican Congressmember Andrew Garbarino, another Italian American representing the Empire State, submitted HR789. That House Resolution would explicitly recognize the impact of Columbus on the Italian American community and officially designate the second Monday in October as Columbus Day. Lawler cosponsored this bill alongside fellow Republican Congressmembers from New York Nick Lalota, Nick Langworthy, Nicole Malliotakis, and Claudia Tenney.

And former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo—who is running for mayor of New York City as an independent after having lost the party nomination—recommitted to protecting the statue at Columbus Circle. Since 2020, historical monuments like statues of Columbus were targeted by activists wanted American to confront and atone for a problematic past.


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On Monday, he vowed to “celebrate the enduring contributions of Italian Americans to New York City” in 2025. Cuomo argued that generations of Italian immigrants see Columbus and statues of him as a symbol that they belong in America.

Back in the House of Representatives, Republican Michael Rulli of Ohio introduced HR5739, the “The Italian Heroes and Heritage Act,” on Friday. Though the bill text is not yet available, it would withhold federal funding from state or local governments that celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day. It’s pitched as an effort to preserve the achievements of Italian Americans.


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Hochul proclaimed October 11, 2021, as Columbus Day in the Empire State, paying tribute to the explorer from Genoa, Italy, and his historic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. She called for commemorating the day to celebrate the countless contributions of Italian Americans.

But the proclamation also left room to describe the state’s greatest asset as its “mosaic of cultures, each of which adds to our strength, enrichment, and diversity.” And despite the official name, some officials still prefer recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.


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For example, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams released a statement on Monday honoring Indigenous Peoples rather than Columbus to “stand with and lift up the marginalized.” He said the day is about honoring Indigenous people, traditions, and heritage while acknowledging how they’ve been harmed. His statement also acknowledged Italian American heritage; New York City’s public schools recognize the second Monday of October as “Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”

In 2021, Biden proclaimed October 11 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, stating that the nation celebrates the contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples and recognizes the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations. He directed the U.S. flag to be displayed on all public buildings that day “in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation.”


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The idea for Indigenous Peoples Day emerged at a 1977 United Nations international conference on discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas. There, they passed a resolution “to observe October 12, the day of so-called ‘discovery’ of America, as an International Day of Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.”

Indigenous delegates, representing over 60 nations and peoples, offered evidence about violent colonizers plundering their lands and destroying their societies. The conference ultimately rebuked “the massacres of millions of native peoples for centuries and the continuous grabbing of their land,” producing an early draft of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which eventually passed in 2007.


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Official federal recognition of Columbus Day dates to 1937, largely because of lobbying from the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and service organization. The holiday was a response to a xenophobic attack that killed 11 Italian Americans in 1891.

Below: Hero or Villain, the complicated legacy of Christopher Columbus from Matthew Restall, Edwin Erle sparks Professor of History and anthropology at Penn State and director of Latin American Studies: