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Alaska House passes bill to designate Indigenous Peoples Day

JUNEAU, Alaska – Columbus Day would be known as Indigenous Peoples Day in Alaska under legislation that passed the state House Friday.

House Bill 78, from Democratic Rep. Dean Westlake, passed 31-7. It next goes to the Senate.

Bills seeking to designate Indigenous Peoples Day in Alaska failed last year. One of the bills, like Westlake’s proposal, would have marked Indigenous Peoples Day on Columbus Day. Another would have set it for Oct. 18, Alaska Day.

Columbus Day, which falls on the second Monday in October, is a federal holiday but not a state holiday in Alaska. For the last two years, Gov. Bill Walker has proclaimed that day to be Indigenous Peoples Day.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Alaska is one of four states considering such legislation this year.

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