Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebrated Nationwide Amidst Political Statements

Indigenous Peoples' Day was celebrated on October 12 with various events across the United States, including a concert and downtown festive in Rapid City hosted by NDN Collective.

Santa Rosa Junior College also celebrated the day, and a former Dallas Cowboy appeared at an Albuquerque Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) posted on social media celebrating "Native Americans' Day" in South Dakota, which became the first state in 1990 to replace Columbus Day with a holiday celebrating indigenous peoples.

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, whose sentence was commuted by President Joe Biden last year, vowed that Native Americans would resist the Trump administration's attacks on Indian rights and tribal sovereignty. The Trump administration is moving ahead with a border wall opposed by the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona. Jonathan Nez, former president of the Navajo Nation, is running for Congress in Arizona and could become the first Native American to represent the state.

His "Warrior Up" platform focuses on lowering healthcare and housing costs, building sustainable rural infrastructure, and tackling corruption. A Trump-aligned Political Action Committee ran an ad against Nez that mistakenly used a photograph of a different Navajo leader. Shiyazh Pete, a former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman and member of the Navajo Nation, met fans at an Indigenous Peoples Day event in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The federal government recognizes both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day.