KOMO: The Seattle City Council will consider changing the name of Columbus Day after a resolution initiated by tribal community members.
The federal holiday should be recognized in Seattle as “Indigenous Peoples Day” according to the Seattle Human Rights Commission.
“This move would put the City in good company with Minneapolis, which took similar action in April, and other cities such as Berkeley that have already made the change,” the Human Rights Commission said in a news release Thursday.
For the second year, Matt Remele is calling on the Seattle City Council to rename the holiday. “It’s just an ongoing fight and struggle, and I’m just continuing on in that legacy,” Remele said.
Seattle City Council members Bruce Harrell and Kashama Sawant are co-sponsoring the measure.
For Remele, a Lakota tribal member, Columbus Day represents what he calls mass killing and genocide by Christopher Columbus. He also says the purpose of the resolution is to celebrate the thriving indigenous cultures, honor their history, and educate students.
“We can’t change the course of history to what has happened in the past, but we can change the future and move forward together,” Remele said.
The council will vote September 2 at Seattle City Hall. The observation of Columbus Day dates from a proclamation by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892. It became a federal holiday in 1937.
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