Columbus Day dispute simmers in Nevada as lawmaker pushes Indigenous Peoples' Day change
State law currently designates Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, but it is widely celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day.
Assem. Shea Backus, who represents District 37 in the northwest Las Vegas valley, calls herself an 'urban Indian,' one of 60,000 who call Nevada home. She noted there are 20 federally recognized tribes including tribal members from 28 bands and colonies. Nevada is the ancestral homeland to people of the Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Western Shoshone, Washoe and Fort Mojave tribes.
Backus emphasizes that the bill doesn't change Columbus Day, but the issue still touches a nerve for Jill Douglass, who calls it 'the bill that seeks to erase Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples' Day.' Most people used the phone line to protest, but Douglass showed up in person at the Legislature's Las Vegas offices on Warm Springs Road.
'We should not tear down another important part of our history. We should not rewrite our shared story to fit a political agenda,' Douglass said.
Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, read Trump's statement, posted Sunday on social media: 'I'm bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes. The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation and all of the Italians that love him so much.'
Assembly Bill 144 (AB144) was first heard on Feb. 11. It advanced to the Senate on April 15 on a 27-15 vote.
The resentment voiced by the bill's opponents was matched by the passion of people who support the change.
Noé Orosco, government affairs manager for Make the Road Nevada, invoked indigenous names — including Abya Yala — of the lands that we think of now as the Americas. 'These are more than just words. They are the memories of migration, of knowledge systems that understood the land as a relative, not as a resource,' he said.
'Our stories have been systematically overlooked, distorted or silenced through centuries of colonization, violence and cultural genocide. Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day is not solely for the benefit of indigenous people, it is an opportunity for all of us to gain a fuller, more accurate understanding of our shared histories,' Orosco said.
Sydney Williams, a member of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, said, 'AB144 is not about creating something new, it's about aligning state law with the truth of what already exists.'
Williams said the holiday is already being celebrated in October.
'Passing this bill is a necessary step towards respect, visibility and a good-faith relationship with Nevada's indigenous peoples. It costs nothing, yet it carries a profound meaning for communities that have long been overlooked,' she said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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