Portland turns Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples' Day

Press Herald - The Portland City Council voted unanimously Monday to designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The vote came after nearly an hour of public comment.

Portland became the latest municipality in Maine to recognize indigenous people instead of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who arrived in the New World on Oct. 12, 1492. Belfast was the first to make the switch in 2015, Bangor did so last month and Orono followed suit last week. Later Monday night, the Brunswick Town Council voted 8-1 to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

While one resident at Monday’s meeting called Christopher Columbus “a murderer,” another said that eliminating the Columbus Day holiday in Portland “is like a slap in the face to the Italians who reside here.” public domain

Sam Smith - It's probably too late to do anything about it, but "indigenous people" has always struck me a phrase invented by liberal academics or bureaucrats. Real people don't use words like that for everyday descriptions. I much prefer terms used in Canada like First Nation or First People. Just a suggestion.