Columbus Day arrived this year on Oct. 10, and as in previous years, the federal observance was repurposed in many quarters as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” a name change proclaimed by no less than President Joe Biden.
That change applies not just to the holiday’s name but to its cultural significance. “Indigenous Day” is being welcomed by Native Americans as an alternative to traditional celebrations of the Italian explorer — despite his grim legacy of murder and torture of native populations.
To Mary Jane Oatman, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, the transition away from Columbus’s heroic status mirrors another, more modern transition that she says education is bringing to Indian Country: acceptance of cannabis, particularly for its medicinal powers.
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