By David Courtland and Carlos Garcia
Joining a number of states and other cities, Oct. 13 was designated Indigenous People’s Day by the Oxnard City Council at its Oct. 7 meeting in a proclamation read by Councilmember Gabriela Rodriguez.
The proclamation, which will be presented to Marianne Parra of the Chumash tribal community, noted that the Chumash had lived on the land Oxnard is located on for thousands of years and had suffered injustice at the hands of European settlers.
First proposed in 1977, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is generally observed each year on the second Monday of October to honor the history, culture, and resilience of Indigenous peoples across the Americas.
The day was created as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day, which marks Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492.
In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
While not a federal holiday, 17 states and Washington, D.C. formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Many cities and school systems also celebrate it, often in place of or alongside Columbus Day.