Monday, Oct. 9, is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. While not a federal holiday, President Joe Biden commemorated the event two years ago. Washington D.C. and 17 states recognize the second Monday in October as a holiday to honor native peoples. California is not one of those states but, last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Nizhoni Chow-Garcia, director of inclusive excellence for CSU Monterey Bay’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and Sustainability, said the increased recognition and commemoration is a good thing. 

“I grew up in the 1980s when being Native American was perceived as something negative and shameful,” Chow-Garcia said. “That is why the official recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a welcome relief. 

“As a Diné woman and mother,” she continued, “it's important to me that my children, their peers, and our larger communities are nurtured in a world where, as Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has said, ‘We celebrate the strength of Indigenous communities, the traditions and cultures that have survived millennia, and our fervent hope for the future.’" 

Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary.