Today is the traditional celebration of Columbus Day, but in East Lansing, the city council has decided to instead observe Indigenous People’s Day. Current State’s Scott Pohl talks with two people involved in the observance.
The second Monday in October has traditionally been observed as Columbus Day in this country. In a growing number of cities, though, including East Lansing, as of a couple of weeks ago, Columbus Day is now being observed as Indigenous People’s Day.
Current State’s Scott Pohl talked with two MSU students who played a role in getting the city to make this change. Cassandra Shavrnock is with the MSU North American Indigenous Student Organization, and Julia Christensen, an East Lansing native and MSU student who serves on the city’s Human Relations Commission.