Why Indigenous Peoples' Day Matters — And How to Show Up Beyond a Hashtag

Today is Indigenous Peoples' Day, observed each year on the second Monday of October. At Grounded Connections Counseling, honoring the communities we serve — and the histories that shape them — is part of what it means to offer truly culturally-affirming care. This day is a meaningful place to pause, learn, and ask what real support looks like.

What the Day Is, and Why It Exists

For decades, the second Monday of October was recognized federally only as Columbus Day. Many Indigenous communities and historians have long pointed out that centering a holiday around Christopher Columbus overlooks the violence of colonization — including the enslavement and displacement of Native peoples — and frames land that Indigenous nations had lived on for thousands of years as something "discovered." Indigenous Peoples' Day emerged as a response: a shift from celebrating colonization to honoring the people, cultures, and nations who were already here, and who are still here.

In 2026, the two observances still fall on the same date, and recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day varies by state and city — it isn't (yet) a federal holiday, though dozens of states, cities, and school districts formally observe it, and advocates continue pushing for full federal recognition.

What It Means for Indigenous Communities

For many Native people, this day isn't just about historical correction — it's about visibility in the present. As Chickasaw scholar Shannon Speed has noted, many students grow up learning about Native Americans only as a people "of the past," with little awareness that Indigenous nations are living, evolving communities today, with their own governments, languages, artists, and ongoing struggles.

That erasure has consequences. The same forces that shaped colonization — land seizure, forced assimilation through boarding schools, loss of language and ceremony — contribute to generational trauma that many Indigenous families are still healing from today. (If that phrase resonates with you, you're not alone; it's something we also talk about in the context of trauma therapy more broadly — trauma doesn't just live in an individual, it can live in a family and a community across generations.)

The Fight That's Still Happening

Indigenous Peoples' Day isn't only a day of reflection — it coincides with active, ongoing fights, including:

• Tribal sovereignty — nations' right to self-govern, set their own laws, and make decisions about their own citizens and territory without outside interference.

• Land Back and land return — a growing movement advocating for the return of ancestral lands to the nations they were taken from, alongside tools like voluntary "honor taxes" that individuals and institutions can pay to Native-led organizations.

• Cultural and language preservation — many Indigenous languages were nearly erased through forced assimilation policies, and tribal nations are actively working to revive and teach them to new generations.

• Representation — ongoing efforts to retire harmful mascots, imagery, and place names that reduce Indigenous identity to a stereotype or a relic.

How Non-Indigenous People Can Actually Help

A land acknowledgment is a start, but advocates are clear that it isn't the finish line. The Native Governance Center — a Native-led nonprofit — offers a helpful framework for support that goes further:

• Learn the specific history of where you live — which nations' land you're on, and what their current status, struggles, and priorities are.

• Support Native-owned businesses and Native-led organizations directly, through purchases, donations, or volunteering.

• Show up to Indigenous-led events and actions as a listener, not a leader — amplifying frontline voices rather than speaking over them.

• Support the removal of harmful mascots, imagery, and place names in your own community, school district, or workplace.

• Advocate for Indigenous history and perspectives to be taught accurately in local schools, rather than as a one-week unit disconnected from the present.

• Put it in writing. Pick one or two concrete, time-bound commitments — a recurring donation, a specific event, a letter to a local official — rather than a one-time post that fades by tomorrow.

Showing Up Is a Practice, Not a Performance

Allyship, like most meaningful things, isn't a single gesture — it's a practice you return to. The same is true of healing, identity, and belonging, which is why culturally-affirming, trauma-informed care matters so much to us. If you're part of the Indigenous community and are navigating generational trauma, cultural identity, or the weight of carrying a history that isn't always acknowledged, we see you, and we'd be honored to support you.

Grounded Connections Counseling is proud to be a BIPOC-owned practice offering culturally-affirming therapy across California, both online and in person. If you'd like to talk with someone who honors your full identity and lived experience, you can reach out here to schedule a free 15-minute consultation, or learn more about our team of therapists.

Reviewed by Dr. Melanie Gonzalez, PsyD, LMFT