MID-HUDSON – Columbus Day, established as a national holiday in 1971, is celebrated on the second Monday in October to mark the landing of Christopher Columbus in North America.
In recent years, many people have also been referring to it as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognizing those who lived on the land long before Columbus arrived.
Norma Ixmucane Pereira is a naturalized U.S. citizen, having emigrated from Guatemala as a teenager.
The Putnam County resident is an advocate for indigenous peoples’ recognition.
“We are here, working, breathing, and deep-rooted to our ancestral lineages, our ancestral practices,” she told Mid-Hudson News. “We are also very conscientious not just about us today, we also have to work very hard for future generations to come.”
Some communities like Newburgh have dubbed Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day as well.
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