Minnesota marks third officially recognized Indigenous Peoples Day on October 13
Oct 13, 2025 09:34AM ● By Content Editor
Photo: Manny Becerra on Unsplash.com
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 13, 2025
Minnesota is celebrating its third officially recognized Indigenous Peoples Day on October 13. In 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a bill designating the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples' Day, replacing Columbus Day. Minnesota joined several other states in marking the day as a state holiday.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a 2023 release, “This has been years in the making, and I’m thrilled to celebrate the first Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota as a state holiday. Native people are still here, and we’ve always been here. Honoring and marking that is an important step in the work to make sure our history continues to be told for our children and our children’s children. Thank you to the advocates and legislators who have been working to make this day a reality for many years. We have so much to celebrate.”
This year, Governor Walz issued a proclamation that honors Minnesota's deep connection to Indigenous heritage, noting that the "state is located on ancestral lands and has a history dating back 10,000 years." Minnesota is currently home to eleven sovereign Tribal Nations (four Dakota and seven Ojibwe), in addition to a "large urban Native American community," according to the proclamation. The document also highlights that the name "Minnesota" comes from the Dakota phrase "Mni Sóta Maḳoce," meaning "Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds."
Additionally, the proclamation acknowledges the numerous contributions of Indigenous peoples to the state's history, culture, and economy.
According to the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the day reminds people to take time to remember, commemorate, and educate about Indigenous culture's contributions to Minnesota. While some entities close for the day, such as some local government offices, banks, and the postal service, schools are to remain open and devote at least one hour of their day to discussing Native issues in Minnesota. Topics can include treaty histories, language, sovereignty, and/or current issues. School districts can also devote time to educating teachers and staff on the same topics.
Nationally, President Joe Biden was the first to recognize the second Monday of October as a joint Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day in 2021. A then 19-year-old named Dylan Baca co-founded the organization Indigenous Peoples' Initiative, which has a mission to "tell a more positive and more accurate tale of Native Americans by replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day." Baca was successful with the change in his home state of Arizona before President Biden signed the federal proclamation. In the document, the president said that the day "honors Native Americans, their 'resilience and strength' and determination to preserve 'land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition,' even as they have faced a 'centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror."
Biden said in 2021 that Columbus Day "invited reflection on 'America’s spirit of exploration' and 'the courage and contributions of Italian Americans throughout the generations' who have risked “poverty, starvation, and death in pursuit of a better life."
This year, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating October 13 as Columbus Day, with no mention of Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Locally, Cook County has recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day as the second Monday in October since 2015, with a proclamation reintroduced in 2020. In an effort led by three Cook County high school students, Cook County became the first county in the country to proclaim the day. The proclamation states that "people are encouraged to remember and celebrate the many indigenous people who have traditionally lived and currently live in the United States and its territories."
Myron Bursheim, who was Cook County Board Chair at the time, said, "It is important for us to collectively acknowledge that Cook County is located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary land of Indigenous people from time immemorial.”
Several resources are available to learn more about Indigenous culture in Cook County and beyond:
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 13, 2025
Minnesota is celebrating its third officially recognized Indigenous Peoples Day on October 13. In 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a bill designating the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples' Day, replacing Columbus Day. Minnesota joined several other states in marking the day as a state holiday.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a 2023 release, “This has been years in the making, and I’m thrilled to celebrate the first Indigenous Peoples Day in Minnesota as a state holiday. Native people are still here, and we’ve always been here. Honoring and marking that is an important step in the work to make sure our history continues to be told for our children and our children’s children. Thank you to the advocates and legislators who have been working to make this day a reality for many years. We have so much to celebrate.”
This year, Governor Walz issued a proclamation that honors Minnesota's deep connection to Indigenous heritage, noting that the "state is located on ancestral lands and has a history dating back 10,000 years." Minnesota is currently home to eleven sovereign Tribal Nations (four Dakota and seven Ojibwe), in addition to a "large urban Native American community," according to the proclamation. The document also highlights that the name "Minnesota" comes from the Dakota phrase "Mni Sóta Maḳoce," meaning "Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds."
Additionally, the proclamation acknowledges the numerous contributions of Indigenous peoples to the state's history, culture, and economy.
According to the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the day reminds people to take time to remember, commemorate, and educate about Indigenous culture's contributions to Minnesota. While some entities close for the day, such as some local government offices, banks, and the postal service, schools are to remain open and devote at least one hour of their day to discussing Native issues in Minnesota. Topics can include treaty histories, language, sovereignty, and/or current issues. School districts can also devote time to educating teachers and staff on the same topics.
Nationally, President Joe Biden was the first to recognize the second Monday of October as a joint Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day in 2021. A then 19-year-old named Dylan Baca co-founded the organization Indigenous Peoples' Initiative, which has a mission to "tell a more positive and more accurate tale of Native Americans by replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day." Baca was successful with the change in his home state of Arizona before President Biden signed the federal proclamation. In the document, the president said that the day "honors Native Americans, their 'resilience and strength' and determination to preserve 'land, language, spirit, knowledge, and tradition,' even as they have faced a 'centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror."
Biden said in 2021 that Columbus Day "invited reflection on 'America’s spirit of exploration' and 'the courage and contributions of Italian Americans throughout the generations' who have risked “poverty, starvation, and death in pursuit of a better life."
This year, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating October 13 as Columbus Day, with no mention of Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Locally, Cook County has recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day as the second Monday in October since 2015, with a proclamation reintroduced in 2020. In an effort led by three Cook County high school students, Cook County became the first county in the country to proclaim the day. The proclamation states that "people are encouraged to remember and celebrate the many indigenous people who have traditionally lived and currently live in the United States and its territories."
Myron Bursheim, who was Cook County Board Chair at the time, said, "It is important for us to collectively acknowledge that Cook County is located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary land of Indigenous people from time immemorial.”
Several resources are available to learn more about Indigenous culture in Cook County and beyond:
- The website ojibwe.net aims to keep the Anishinaabemowin language alive and present.
- Free language classes are offered in the Ojibwe Language Classroom at Sawtooth Elementary School every Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., September - May. These classes are open to all ages and skill levels. To learn more, email: [email protected].
- Drury Lane Books offers a selection of titles that reflect the Indigenous culture, history, and influence in the area. Learn more here.
- Visit Grand Portage State Park and Grand Portage National Monument (visit each site's webpage for the most up-to-date hours.
- Learn about why treaties matter with "Why Treaties Matter," a project that is a collaboration of the Minnesota Humanities Center, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
