Another effort to create Indigenous Peoples Day in Montana is underway in the Capitol. State legislation would dedicate the second Monday of October to both Christopher Columbus and Indigenous people.
Missoula Democratic Sen. Shane Morigeau brought a bill that would recognize the holiday statewide by sharing Columbus Day.
This is the sixth legislative session in a row raising the issue. In 2021 and 2023, legislators attempted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, but this year Morigeau’s bill proposes the two coincide.
Morigeau, who is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes says, “For all the organizers and people I’ve worked with across the state, for them, this was the best step moving forward recognizing that other efforts we brought to the legislative body have not passed.”
Legislators who spoke in support of the bill said it struck a balance and recognized Columbus’s impacts on world history as well as Indigenous peoples’ impacts.
The Senate gave the bill an initial endorsement with a vote of 48-2.
