South Lake Tahoe removes Columbus Day in favor of Indingenous People's Day

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Columbus Day has been a holiday at the federal level since 1934, one that honored Christopher Columbus for, what was once thought, the discovery of America.

In the last two decades, a lot of information has been uncovered that said, while Columbus was a brilliant mariner, he exploited and enslaved the indigenous population (according to the final volume of a compendium of Columbus-era documents published by the University of California, Los Angeles's Medieval and Renaissance Center in 2004).

During four separate trips that began with the first one in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas and explored Central and South American coasts. It is now known that Columbus didn’t reach North America, which, of course, was already inhabited by Native Americans.

Because of this, South Lake Tahoe resident Reid Reichardt first approached the last City Council over a year ago, asking they officially change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. At that time there was no council support but that happened in May 2019 when Councilmen Cody Bass and Devin Middlebrook as the subject come forward again.

Reichardt spoke before the Council Tuesday night, saying that given Tahoe's history with the Washoe, renaming the holiday is appropriate. He has started a website, https://keeptahoetrue.org, with more information in support of Indigenous Peoples Day. Cities and states are also changing the name of Columbus Day.

"I know messing with a holiday is hard for some to take," said Reichardt. "We now know much more about Columbus than did our predecessors."

Some residents spoke against the name change, asked the Council to not mess with history and look into making two holidays, one for Columbus and the other for Native Americans.

By a vote of 4-1, the Council approved the name change and will make the second Monday in October, Indigenous Peoples Day. The lone dissent, Tami Wallace, said the City should be concentrating on police, fire and roads, and not agenda items such as this.

The City said in their resolution the "City of South Lake Tahoe strongly supports the proposition that Indigenous People’s Day shall be an opportunity to celebrate the thriving cultures and values of the Indigenous Peoples of our region. The City of South Lake Tahoe encourages other businesses, organizations, and public institutions to recognize Indigenous People’s Day."