Denver City Council will weigh a proposal to make Indigenous Peoples’ Day a city holiday.
“With this paid city holiday, it creates an opportunity for a day of reflection, education and acknowledging what we did here in Denver and the state of Colorado that negatively affected American Indians and continues to do so today,” said Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, a cosponsor.
City holidays are days when most of the city government is shut down and many government employees are given the day off, although there is no requirement that other employers give a day off. City holidays also mean services like garbage pickup and parking enforcement are suspended.
If the bill passes, the new city holiday would fall on the second Monday in October.
Gilmore said she’s sponsoring the bill on behalf of Indigenous community members who have requested the day be made a holiday. The bill is also sponsored by council members Amanda Sandoval, Flor Alvidrez, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Diana Romero Campbell and Jamie Torres.
Two members of the city’s American Indian Commission, Raven Payment and Shannon Alcott, were instrumental in the push to introduce the bill.
Alcott, the co-chair of the commission and a Diné citizen, said making Indigenous Peoples’ Day a new city holiday is a step towards healing among the Native American community.
“My oldest just learned about the Sand Creek Massacre, and so having those conversations with her about Indigenous People's Day and what that's going to look like in the future and having that recognition is important for all of our youth as well as for our elders who experienced these atrocities,” Alcott said.
Gilmore and Alcott said that Indigenous Peoples’ Day is just a start and that there will be further conversations about how to recognize Denver’s Indigenous past and present.
Denver would be one the first cities in Colorado to officially celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day
While Denver and other cities have recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day with largely symbolic proclamations, not many have formally recognized it as a paid city holiday. Denver would join the town of Erie east of Boulder as one of the only cities formally recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Statewide efforts to recognize the holiday in lieu of Columbus Day, named after the infamous Italian colonizer who brutalized Indigenous populations, have largely failed.
In 2016, a state bill to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day failed. Four years later, state lawmakers passed a bill to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day, honoring a Catholic humanitarian who was active in Denver in the early 1900s. Cabrini Day is officially celebrated on the first Monday of October.
While Colorado lawmakers haven’t taken up a bill to reintroduce the possibility of recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the state level, legislators have a renewed focus on Indigenous affairs this year. During the legislative off-season, a new committee was formed with the goal of having lawmakers listen to Indigenous communities about issues they’re facing.
Work in the committee has led to bills being introduced to the full legislature, including one that would introduce new protections for wild bison and one giving Ute tribe members free access to state parks.
Editor's note: This story was updated on 3/5 at 8:45 a.m. to reflect that Erie officially recognizes Indigenous Peoples' Day as a paid holiday.
