Many across the country are celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day today, including in Idaho.
The occasion has officially replaced Columbus Day in many cities and states. Gov. Brad Little signed a proclamation in 2019 recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
This year, Idaho State University is holding its seventh-annual celebration for the holiday. Effie Hernandez is a Shoshone-Bannock tribal citizen and the Native American student services coordinator at ISU.
She described this year's theme.
"This year is Indigenous joy: celebrating strength and resilience," said Hernandez. "So this particular event offers a meaningful opportunity to honor the rich cultures, and histories, and enduring contributions of Indigenous peoples."
The event is free and open to the public.
Hernandez noted that there's been a push in the state and across the nation against diversity, equity, and inclusion – or DEI – that has not impacted Idaho State University's celebration of Indigenous peoples.
Hernandez said the celebration is opportunity for people to connect with the local Indigenous community.
"We were really wanting to make sure that we let people know that we're still here," said Hernandez, "we're resilient, and our strength comes in numbers, and that we're wanting to share that education, we're wanting to share the research that we're doing as people."
Hernandez said they have events planned throughout the day.
"We have everything from celebration of strength and resilience through generations through our keynote speaker, to learning about Indian Relay, to learning about medicine," said Hernandez. "So it's really going towards the resilience and strength piece, because these are components that we really value, and we want to continue those traditions."