In a city where a statue of Christopher Columbus towers over its waterfront, the explorer may soon lose his holiday.
At its work session last week, the city council considered the idea of changing the second Monday of October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
“I have always had feeling about Columbus Day and changing it to Indigenous Peoples’ Day because we are on borrowed land,” said Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde. “It’s not our land; there were native tribes that were here before us – and of course, we all know the history of Columbus coming and taking what he wanted to take. So, I think this would be a wonderful thing for the city to do.”
Moneteverde said the idea was proposed by the City of Newburgh Democratic Committee.