As Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day both occur on Monday, many wonder which services and businesses will remain open during the holiday.

Columbus Day was established as a national holiday by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1934, per the Library of Congress. Since 1971, the second Monday of October has been celebrated as Columbus Day, which is now recognized as a federal holiday.

Increasingly, the day is referred to as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as advocates seek to rename the holiday in light of its association with explorer Christopher Columbus and the violence experienced by Indigenous communities in North America as a result of his actions.

For the past three years, Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been recognized through proclamation. Though it isn’t a federal holiday, President Joe Biden acknowledged it to “honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples.”

Even though Columbus Day is a federal holiday, it is “one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays,” according to the Pew Research Center.

Is Columbus Day Recognized as a Federal Holiday?

Despite the ongoing debate and varied observance, Columbus Day is still recognized as a federal holiday. It remains one of the 11 federal holidays as identified by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

When is Columbus Day in 2024?

Columbus Day will be observed on Monday, October 14.

When is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2024?

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is also observed on the same date, Monday, October 14.

Are Post Offices Open on Columbus Day?

The post office will be closed on Columbus Day, meaning there will be no mail delivery on this day.

Customers can still order shipping supplies via the post office’s online services.

Are Banks Open on Columbus Day?

Major banks such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America will also close for Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day.

Some Chase branches will remain open, but online services will be managed as they would on a typical federal holiday.

What About Other Federal Offices?

Non-essential federal offices will be closed for the holiday.

For instance, agencies such as Federal Student Aid will not be operational on Monday and will not process any funds to universities, although their website will continue to accept data submissions.

What Does Columbus Day Celebrate?

Columbus Day marks the anniversary of explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.

Leading a Spanish expedition, the Italian navigator Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, triggering European colonization, trade exchanges, and the historical period known as the Columbian Exchange.

This day has been observed primarily by some Italian American communities, while it remains a contentious topic for many Native Americans.

Why is Celebration of Columbus Day Controversial?

The traditional school curriculum surrounding Christopher Columbus is often oversimplified.

Indigenous peoples had existed in the Americas for millennia before Columbus’s arrival, and the encounter with European settlers led to severe loss of life, culture, and land for Native American groups, as noted by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Though not universally observed, advocates argue it is essential to confront Columbus’s violent legacy and acknowledge contemporary Native American communities.

Columbus’s legacy is controversial due to his treatment of Indigenous peoples.

As reported by the History Channel, Columbus is documented to have:

• Engaged in enslavement and brutality
• Introduced new diseases that devastated populations
• Attempted to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity

Critics of the holiday argue that Columbus committed numerous acts against humanity upon reaching the Americas, summarized by Philadelphia Magazine:

• Columbus had around 10,000 indigenous people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic suffer the loss of their hands for not delivering gold every three months.
• He also amputated the legs of native children who tried to escape.
• Additonally, he was involved in trafficking young girls aged nine and ten.

As a result, numerous states and cities have started to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day or honor both celebrations.

Is Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognized as an official holiday?

This varies depending on your location.

About 29 states and Washington, D.C. no longer commemorate Columbus Day. More than 216 cities have either renamed it or replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as reported by renamecolumbusday.org. Some states honor Indigenous Peoples Day through official proclamations, while others consider it an official holiday.

On the federal level, there have been presidential proclamations recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day from the Biden administration for the past three years.

“Indigenous communities embody resilience, strength, and perseverance and make significant contributions to society. They continue to honor their cultures, preserve their histories, and pass their legacies down,” Biden stated in the 2023 proclamation of the holiday.

Shifting the focus from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a way to incorporate Indigenous viewpoints for a richer understanding of history, according to the Smithsonian.

By observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the museum emphasizes the importance of acknowledging Native Americans who remain active in their fight for acknowledgment and environmental justice.