Holyoke replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on city calendar
The measure passed 9-3 at the October 6 meeting, joining dozens of Massachusetts communities that have made the same change.
The Holyoke City Council voted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on the municipal calendar, passing the measure by a 9-3 vote at its October 6 meeting. The change alters the city's official recognition of the October holiday, though Columbus Day remains a federal and state holiday in Massachusetts.
The ordinance, which the Ordinance Committee approved 4-1 before the full council vote, reflects a broader shift across municipalities. According to the measure's supporters, 17 states and many other cities and school systems either replace or recognize Indigenous Peoples Day alongside Columbus Day. City Councilor Richard Purcell noted that more than two dozen Massachusetts communities, including Boston, Cambridge, Amherst, and Northampton, already observe Indigenous Peoples Day.
City Councilor Meg Magrath-Smith, who chairs the Ordinance Committee, said the ordinance changed city calendar sections to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. She described the debate as balancing two concerns: residents wanting Indigenous Peoples Day to be centered, and those supporting the Italian American community and Columbus as a historical figure.
Three councilors voted against the change. City Councilor Michael Sullivan said he favored Indigenous Peoples Day but opposed eliminating Columbus Day, arguing that changing a state and federal holiday exceeded the council's authority. City Councilor Linda Vacon said she wanted both holidays recognized, contending that the country was founded by explorers and that attempting to relitigate events from 1492 creates a fictional narrative.
Supporters of the change argued it was important to listen to residents and adapt to current times. City Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos stated that Columbus was not a discoverer but a figure responsible for atrocities. "He was treacherous, horrible, killed people, raped people and the list goes on," Anderson-Burgos said. City Councilor Richard Purcell characterized Columbus as a lost sailor who arrived on land already inhabited by 40 to 90 million people, and said his arrival initiated genocide and the slave trade.
Purcell also stated, "Renaming the day is not erasing history, it's about seeing it clearly." He added that the change honors Italian heritage without defending Columbus's actions. A petition from 50 Holyoke residents urged the council to recognize both holidays.