FACT FINDERS: Does Arizona Observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day or Columbus Day?

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Oct. 14, 2024, is a federal holiday – but whether it’s marked as “Indigenous People’s Day” or “Columbus Day” depends on where you live.

Arizona is one of the 16 U.S. states that still observe Columbus Day. It is one of 11 official Federal holidays, so there’s no mail delivery and most banks will be closed. But it gets more complicated. Depending on where you live, today is a paid day off, just another Monday, or a holiday with a different name.

More than 100 U.S. cities have replaced Columbus Day, as indigenous peoples populated the Western Hemisphere long before the explorer’s arrival.

But Arizona remains a bit of a hybrid. Only Tempe and Phoenix established Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a paid holiday. The City of Tucson and Pima County have stopped observing Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but they did not make it a paid holiday. We are not the only state where the two days co-exist. You can see this play out in transitions like the renaming of Columbus Park in Tucson for the late Tohono O’odham elder Danny Lopez.

”There’s no conflict in the celebration of Indigenous peoples,” said Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, a member of the the Tohono O’odham Nation. “When we’re talking about Christopher Columbus, no matter who it is, we’re having to acknowledge the bad that comes with the holiday – and it’s almost like we’re having to say it with an asterisk.”

You can watch more of the interview with Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly in the video player below.

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