Cook Co. Proclaims Columbus Day As ‘Indigenous Peoples Day’

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Native Americans in Cook County, Minn. held a rally Monday to urge county commissioners to end Columbus Day and proclaim the day as “Indigenous Peoples Day.”

“It’s important they represent Native Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day because it’s forcing negative stereotypes against Native Americans,” said Jaden Aubid, with the Local Indian Education Committee.

At Monday night’s board meeting, all but one commissioner – Garry Gamble — voted to do proclaim today as Indigenous Peoples Day.

Gamble believes the vote is too divisive and only repeats what he calls bad decisions in American history.

“Let’s commit to respect. Let’s have a dialogue that brings substance to this discussion, but let’s not exclude one and simply replace another because the mood of present day culture says it’s the thing to do,” Gamble said.

The Cook County School District’s superintendent spoke in favor of the proclamation and said 22 percent of the student body within the district is Native American.