ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico is celebrating Indigenous People’s Day officially for the first time. The holiday is, for some, replacing Columbus Day and honoring the contributions of Native Americans.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center hosted a celebration Monday morning with traditional dances from several New Mexico tribes. Tribal leaders also gave an invocation in their native languages.
“We participate in a greater society that we call the human race, but we still have a culture and a heritage that remains still relevant and very fundamental to who we are even to this day,” museum cultural educator Jon Ghahate said.
The federal government still recognizes today as Columbus Day. New Mexico is one of several states that have replaced it with Indigenous People’s Day.
